


DYING LIGHT: The Sunset of Harran

by Helenth



Category: Dying Light (Video Game)
Genre: Adventure, Angst, Apocalypse, Blood and Violence, Body Horror, Canon Compliant, Cure, Dark, Explicit Language, F/M, Gore, Post-Canon, References to Drugs/Alcohol, Sentient Volatile, Survival Horror, The Following (DLC), Vial Ending
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:14:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 38,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24000433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Helenth/pseuds/Helenth
Summary: Kyle Crane woke up to his worst fears - he became blood-lusting, horrifying monstrosity. Furthermore, Tower's residents are in a very difficult position with no supplies and no antizine. Harran is going through changes, which won't end up good for any of the remaining survivors.Will Kyle be able to save Harran again? Or fail this time completely...
Relationships: Eventual Dr. Camden/OC, Eventual Ezgi/OC, Harris Brecken/Lena
Comments: 5
Kudos: 19





	1. Second Awakening ~ PHASE I

**Author's Note:**

> _I want to say sorry to all potential readers for my poor English, but it's not my first language. I wanted to write a story in English since I played the game in this language and every time I tried to imagine it all happening in my language it felt so silly :P_
> 
> _Either way, I hope you enjoy my scribbles._  
>  ______________________________________________
> 
> May contain adult content not limited to: _extreme violence, slaughter, tortures, backstory of non-con/rape, overuse of drugs/alcohol, characters death and more_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Trigger Warning:** Minor references to children slaughter.

* * *

**CHAPTER 1: Second Awakening**

* * *

Emptiness. That was all Kyle could feel. And those black fog pressing on his mind over and over, for God know how long.

Finally, after a while, which felt to Kyle like an eternity, he started regaining consciousness. The first thing he noticed while awakening was his heavy breathing and pain all over his whole body. Like someone took a steel rod and started to smite him everywhere, creating burning bruises.

He tried his best to ignore this pain and focused on opening eyes. It required tremendous effort for Kyle to do, but finally, he blinked heavily a few times, trying to get rid of the blurry view. With confusion, Kyle noticed he is in an unfamiliar place. He tried to look around to only feel a painful snap in his neck like he didn't use it in a long time and started to rust.

After shaking off this feeling he found himself lying on the ground. Surrounded by trees he felt a light breeze on his skin. At first, he thought it's Harran waterfront. But it wasn't it. There was no bridge nearby, no trash piles, nor infected. And the whole place felt so quiet. Too quiet.

At this point, glimpses of memories started to come back to Kyle. He was in The Dam. But not alone. He fought Kaans's men. And then met The Mother. She showed him her true face - the fucking volatile, but with remains of sanity. He remembered he killed her in order to save the whole Harran... But after that, there is only this black emptiness. With small fragments of memories that don't feel like Kyle's.

He couldn't figure it out right now. He knew he needs to get back to Tower to tell them unfortunate news about vials not being a cure. It was when it struck him. The Mother forced him to drink it. Is that why he doesn't have memories? Is that one of the side effects?

He tried to get up, but cramping pain didn't help at all. He felt like he ran, jumped for hours, and his legs finally started to give up after all this stress. That was when he started to feel what was not right with this whole situation. Kyle found himself covered in blood, dirt, and some unknown substances. His whole shirt, trousers, hands were all over it. What the hell? Was his first thought. He check-up for potential wounds, but found only a few minor ones, which won't give so much blood. While wiping his hand by some non-blood-covered parts of cloth, he started to really look around.

It was about to dawn and the whole place was too clean and pretty. The blood-covered man standing in the middle of this place looked really strange and out of place. He couldn't hear any sounds, which felt very uncomforting. Harran was never that quiet. Neither The Countryside. Because he couldn't see anything past these trees he chose one direction to go.

Not long ago a city outline emerged, but it was not like Harran or any known places Kyle visited around. The major difference was no sight of The Wall in the distance, which surrounded whole Slums and Countryside. Also, the town felt well-kept, not like whole Harran which was falling in rumbles. This gave Kyle feeling he is no longer in the quarantine zone. But how on earth he end up here? And why he has no recollection of any events after fighting The Mother?

Bunch of questions started to arise in Kyle's mind, while he kept walking. But he was distracted by sudden rumors from not far away. Something sounding like chatter and alarm noises. He approached it carefully and distant non-recognizable words started to make sense.

\- _...stay calm... move about... closed off... no passing through... allowed..._

Kyle was able to understand only part of this statement. Which had no sense to him. The talking person felt very calm and even bored with saying that, just like he already told the same thing many times. Kyle wanted to investigate more and see what is this about. He leaned out from behind a bush to see the scene very strange to him. Bunch of people, all seemed to not be infected and they all gathered around police car with red flashing lights. Everyone was concentrated on a small playground or at least something deep within it. Kyle couldn't see much because of all trees, so he changed his position.

The sight was terrible. Blood everywhere. Each of the playground's toys was covered in it. There were three big puddles of red around a few bodies laying on the ground. Kyle counted it quickly - two small children's bodies and an adult. Kyle's stomach clenched out of worry. Some of these glimpses of weird scenes in his mind started to connect together like puzzles.

The worst of his dreams came true. All that The Mother said to him was in fact real. He scratched his face in both pain of this reveal and huge guilt. He looked at his hand. But they were normal, no claws from this bizarre memories. Maybe it wasn't him... He looked back at the playground and then back at himself covered in blood.

It was all his fault. He started to transform into the same monster The Mother was. As she told him he would. Kyle could not withstand all of this. All that mattered was getting back to Harran. He tried his best to focus his thoughts on this, but the sight of the massacre in from of his didn't let him. He was replaying this memory over and over again. Getting out of sewers... Scream of those kids when they saw him. And his volatile scream. He didn't have to imagine what happened after.

He sat stunned behind a bush trying to not listen to people chatting over there.

\- _I heard, that some lunatic came and murdered a few kids here and her mother. What kind of monster does this?_

\- _Poor kids... When did this happen? I saw the police here from the very morning._

\- _I think it all happened yesterday evening. Who would think it's not safe to be in here?_

\- _I really hope they catch this bastard and he gets what he deserves..._

All of those started echoing in Kyle's brain like a drilling hole in his head. He couldn't believe this was all his doing. How did he manage to get here? He was about to head back to Harran. And did he caused any more death and destruction than this? All those thoughts were raising Kyle's panic. He couldn't stay here, even though it was his only way back to Harran. He started sprinting away from this scene. Didn't even care if someone heard any noise from behind the bush.

The guilt was overwhelming and filled his whole mind. All he cared right now was to get out of this massacre scene. After a while, Kyle stopped. Sun was burning his neck and although he ran for some time he didn't even sweat a bit. He fell to his knees and grasped his head in hands almost like trying to get all those memories out of his head in a futile effort.

Time completely stopped for Kyle. The only thing changing was the sun moving slowly on the skies. It woke him up from this state. He looked at the sun which traveled almost to the other side of the sky and realized it passed a few hours. It might be safe to go back and try to enter tunnels again. He was amazed no one spotted him by now. He took that as a good sign.

He carefully stood up looking around. He was on the hilly side, surrounded by rocks and medium-sized bushes. It was a great viewing spot for the entire city. Kyle enjoyed the view for a few seconds until his eyes spotted the playground place in the distance. He couldn't see much, but it seemed abandoned at the moment. Kyle began his trip back to this place.

The walk seemed short, but might be because of anxiety Kyle felt through the whole trip. While he was getting closer it became clear no people are around this place. The unbroken silence was even more horrifying knowing what happened to this place. When Kyle came out of trees he saw playground again. But this time cleaned. With only traces of some white powder laying in patches around places where bodies were. The whole thing was surrounded by police tape to remind everyone not to enter. He headed back to the place where the sewer entrance was. It was sealed off by more tape. Kyle took his knife out and cut through it with ease.

He looked back once more and jumped inside. Not spotted by anyone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _First chapter over. Not much happened, I know, but you'll gonna eventually get some fighting and chase scenes, so stay tuned!_
> 
> _Version 1.0 ~ 04/05/20_   
>  _Version 1.2 ~ 17/05/20 Added fanfic cover (version 2.0)_   
>  _Version 1.2.1 ~ 18/05/20 Added chapter photo_


	2. Long Way Home I

* * *

**CHAPTER 2: Long Way Home I**

* * *

Meanwhile in the Tower situation was critical. People were desperate and frightened. Everyone still remembered the last outbreak, which lead to losing many people on the 18th floor. Some fled, others bunkered themselves in their rooms. Runners and medics were at their breaking point. Everyone was overworked and hopeless. They send Kyle to bring supposed cure from Countryside, but after promising few reports, he went missing. They couldn't contact him for a few days now, and who knows how long they will be able to sustain more?

Their stock of antizine was almost completely depleted. And since old Rai's gang was still on the hunt for airdrops and Tower lost most of their best runners, they were in real deep need for it.

Lena while a very respected and assertive person, was not fit to be a leader. She kept Tower going after Brecken's disappearance, but she lacked his leadership skills. People no longer believed in The Tower and its ideals. But since there were not many alternatives, they stayed.

It was when a new figure arose in Harran's Town. He had ideals and true leadership skills. People called him Harran's Savior, other - New Rais, but only a few knew who he was. He gained more and more popularity since he started his weekly broadcasts. He was telling people to take actions and not be passive, to stand out and fight for theirs. He was gaining more supporters with each day, but still, no one knew where he was residing and what was his ultimate goal. Not for long.

A strange visitor came to The Tower. He had a proposal for their residents, which they couldn't say no to. He came with almost unlimited supplies and willingness to help and all he asked to be taken in. This way he gave The Tower a new life and a new mission - spreading the word and increasing their forces. Quickly people declared him new Tower's leader, due to his skills and improvements he was willing to make.

There were people who didn't approve of his actions but were in a minority. Some still talked about Kyle Crane and him bringing rescue to Tower's residents, but no one could argue with fact, that there was a faster way out of this deep shit. People weren't certain about this new guy. They didn't know anything about him. Up until now, he was just a guy with a good pep talk from the radio. Now he was willing to be their Savior.

But Tower was in despair and welcomed him with open arms. This way Hannibal Brake found the new base of operation. And he had big plans about it, which soon would be put into motion.

* * *

At the same time, Kyle was venturing into sewers which lead him previously to the outside of quarantine. He needed really badly to get back to Harran, not only to help Tower residents but also to seek their help. He had no idea what was going on with him.

The tunnels were dark and empty and none of them seemed familiar to him. He tried his best to try to remember the path he came but failed. At this point, he was hoping not to go deeper into non-quarantined zone. The last thing he wanted was to cause more problems and death outside of the infected zone. Good thing people didn't realize this whole massacre was his fault... or more precisely by goddamn zombie he seems to become. He still couldn't believe it all happened. He still had a tiny bit of hope that it wasn't him and the fact he was covered in blood was just coincidence.

The sewer tunnels were almost like a labyrinth to Kyle. Whenever he chose one path it ends up as dead-end. It was such a waste of time going back and forth to just find another closed way. It started to irritate him since his goal was to get back to Harran as fast as he could. But right now he didn't felt like coming closer. Kyle tried a few times to call Lena on his walkie, but he had to be out of range and the fact he didn't saw single infected yet was not promising.

It felt like good two or three hours of circling around those sewer tunnels before Kyle found the first traces of infected activity. It was a good sign to Kyle which made him speed up his walk into a trot. And as soon as he started to see more familiar scenes he started to run. It had to be it. He was getting closer. It shouldn't be long before he can reach The Dam.

And as he thought that his eyes saw a very familiar corridor emerging from around the bend. He was already there. Kyle slowed a bit and started to listen for others presence nearby. Being careful in this place was important, since the last time he was here, there still was a bunch of old Rai's men. The corridors seemed awfully quiet which made Kyle nervous about this place. He really didn't want to confront both Children of the Sun nor thugs and mostly not with infected. That was the last thing he needed right now.

He finally entered the main hall in which he fought with The Mother. Memories came back to him again. The struggles of fight and awful feeling after he was forced to drink this poison. He looked in direction where he finally beat the cult leader. Her headless corpse was still lying right down there.

\- Y _ou got what u deserved..._ he said to empty space while passing by her remnants.

Kyle headed into corridors where the rest of the cult members lied after being murdered. He felt pity for them. They were defending and worshiping the person who wanted to ultimately kill them all. And the true irony was Kyle was fooled by her too. He was so sure it was the cure, all people in Harran needed, but in fact, it poisoned him and made him do terrible things. He wasn't sure if he gonna make out of this. But it wasn't right now the most important thing to worry about. There was still bunch of people depending on him and success of his mission. He needs to get in touch with The Tower and tell them he failed.

It was the last thing he wanted to do, but it was vital to give them heads up, and maybe then they might come up with another plan. Kyle was hoping they have a backup plan because otherwise they gonna be screwed. He speeded up to get out of these tunnels as fast as possible. He couldn't communicate with anyone here, but up, on the surface, he might be able to finally do it.

The way up didn't take Kyle long. He didn't find any traces of infected or more thugs, other than the ones he killed on his the way in. Kyle was relieved when he finally went through The Dam's entry doors. Sun blinded Kyle for a short period of time. When his eyes adjusted to the brightness and he noticed nothing really changed in the scenery outside of The Dam. The only different part was no thugs presence, which was a good thing. But in their place came some infected which was roaming around way down in the lower regions next to Power Station. Mostly Bitters with few Virals, nothing Kyle couldn't manage.

He started scanning the area for traces of his buggy, but couldn't find it. It could be taken by thugs when they left the region. That meant a long way to walk to The Passthrough. He took his walkie out of bag hoping he might be able to contact Tower.

\- _Crane to Lena, do you copy?_ All he got was white noises, so he repeated. _Crane to Lena, do you copy?_

\- _More white noises. Great._ He took a deep breath. _Crane to The Tower, do anyone copy? Goddammit!_

With no luck he decided to head in direction of The Passthrough. Maybe there he would have more luck. He looked around, but there was no easy way down than the way he came in. He started to climb down using the Dam's walls and scaffoldings. It didn't take him too long. Not without reason, he was called best Harran's runner. He skilfully avoided all zombies and went on his way. He needed to get to his stash for some supplies, but it would be just a quick stop on the way to The Passthrough.

The trip took him a while, but was mostly quiet and not challenging. Infected didn't seem to pick up a good fight with Kyle, so he was slicing his way down pretty easily. Sun was almost setting down when Kyle felt it. This weird dizziness and weakness. It came and hit him out of the sudden. He staggered and almost fell, but managed to clutch onto a nearby tree. He had no idea what's happening.

\- _What... the hell is happening with me..._

He made about dozen of steps before he collapsed. He felt like his whole body started to shake almost like convulsions. His eyesight started to blur out. Kyle tried to reach his hand out to grab something, but couldn't feel anything around him. His mind started to slowly sink into the same black fog. His last conscious thought was:

_No. Not again._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _This one is two-part chapter. Its sole purpose was to connect action with events in The Following and things that happened when Kyle was away from Harran. Just a small foretaste before he gonna learn more about this mysterious Hannibal Brake. He is also one of the new OCs I'm planning to introduce to the story, but Kyle is still a main character._
> 
> _Version 1.0 ~ 04/05/20_   
>  _Version 1.1 ~ 18/05/20 Added chapter photo_


	3. Long Way Home II

* * *

**CHAPTER 3: Long Way Home II**

****

* * *

The pain. Darkness. And awful premonitions of bad things. That was all Kyle felt right now. He couldn't do anything, almost like he was trapped inside his own mind. He was completely powerless and unaware of what is happening around him. But he suspected it. Dark scenarios were in his mind. He was truly afraid of another incident.

He was so fullish. After realizing that this supposed cure started to turn him into the monster, he should take more precautions. He was so fixed on trying to get back to Harran, he didn't even consider that nighttime might trigger this. Turning him into the monster. And he knew that all he was right now, was just a mindless monster. Running around and harassing locals. He hoped not to hurt someone again.

His dark thoughts were interrupted by a sudden change he felt. He knew something was different, but couldn't determine what changed and if that was a good change or not. Soon enough he knew it was a good sign. He felt like his strengths were slowly coming back and that meant he could put some fight to get into control of his body. It might be the hardest fight he ever fought, but eventually, his mind let him go and he was able to feel, hear, and see around him.

Kyle found himself in the middle of the field. There was still no sun on the skies, and the whole area was hidden in the morning dusk. He noticed he was sprinting, so he tried his best to stop and regain the rest of the control of his body. Slowly other senses and feelings in his limps started to come back to him. It was way different than the last experience he had. Before he just woke up from being unconscious. Now it was a fight to get the control. Also, the weakness he felt yesterday before he lost control, it didn't leave him this time. He felt much weaker now, but not due to fatigue, but it was almost like a little life was sucked out of him. That was not a good sign.

Kyle looked around and spotted a few scattered zombies around, which seemed to ignore him. It was weird, but it might be due to his sudden transformation, which they didn't yet know happened. He checked up on his bag if he still had it with all items inside. He felt relieved when he found those vials and walkie still there. It would be terrible if he lost them. All his suffer and effort would go to the waste.

He looked at his clothes and hands. They seemed not to change much from yesterday. No new blood traces, a little bit dirtier than before, but it wasn't really that important. He looked around again trying to recognize the area he was in. Slowly he spotted some landmarks and familiar buildings in distance. He was not that far from The Farm. He wanted originally to get there and grab some supplies, but right now he no longer thought it was a good idea. He should head back to Harran and get to safety before night arrives because only God knows what's gonna happen if he fails.

He took his walkie out of the bag and set on Tower's frequency, but hesitated for a bit. Can he come back to The Tower? Considering he clearly can't control himself. He might be a danger to them all. But still, he needed to deliver those vials. He didn't know what to do with them. On one side it clearly wasn't a cure he supposed to bring, but it can still be useful. Maybe Dr. Camden will be able to get something out of this and use it in his research for the cure.

Either way, he needed to contact The Tower. They need to know he has no good news for them. He pressed the button and started talking:

\- _Crane to The Tower, do anyone copy?_ He let go of his finger off the button and waited for a few seconds. All he heard was white noise. He tried again.

\- _Crane to The Tower, does anyone there?_ Nothing. Just more white noises. Did anything happen? He was pretty sure he should be in range.

\- _Crane to Lena, do you copy?_ He looked at the skies. Sun was just rising and blinded him for a moment. He shielded his eyes with a hand for a brief moment, trying to adjust to the light. He felt more weakness coming up. Not the same, as just before he lost control. But it was not a good feeling.

He tried to ignore it and he called via his radio again.

\- _Crane to anyone from The Tower, does anyone hear me?_ His voice cracked at the end of the last sentence. Dizziness came back and made him almost fell, but he managed to stood on his feet. This was definitely not a good sign.

Kyle looked around to find a spot to sit. He saw broken pickup nearby, where he might be able to sit and get his strength back. But trying to get there was not a good idea. Keeping balance was one thing, but walking the other. The moment Kyle tried to make the first step he fell on the ground. He barely avoided close contact his face with dirt by supporting himself on his hands. He had no idea where this weakness came from. He rolled over to the back and tried to inspect himself if he doesn't have any major injuries, which could potentially explain why he felt like that right now. But he couldn't find anything.

Maybe this is because of this damn poison? It messes with the brain and now with his body! At this point, he wasn't sure if he can make it into the city again. It was when the walkie started to make some noises. At first, mostly non-recognizable words came out of it, but then he started to understand what the person was talking about.

\- _Kyle is that you?_ A feminine voice came out of the device. Kyle could hear the uncertainty in her voice. He managed to lift up the device to his mouth and say:

- _Lena? Yes, it's me, Kyle._ _It is so nice to hear from you!_ Kyle tried his best to hide how powerless and afraid as he felt right now.

\- _I can't believe this! It's really you!_ Happiness and a bit of relief were emanating from her voice. _We were worried we won't hear from you again._

\- _So do I for a moment._

\- _We assumed the worst..._ Lena suddenly stopped.

\- _So, I have some news for you guys._ Kyle kept his voice as neutral as he could, but Lena apparently knew better.

\- _No good news, right?_

The silence was confirmation. Kyle heard sad sight from the walkie.

\- _There are some changes in The Tower…_ She seemed a little stressed about it but continued. _We are under new leadership now._

\- _Oh? What happened?_

\- _So we were running really low on supplies for a while. And had almost all of our stock of antizine depleted. We were desperate and it was when this guy, Hannibal came. He offered supplies and antizine to us._ She stopped for a moment before continuing almost like she was afraid to tell him something. _We couldn't wait any longer and we accepted the offer._

- _There is a catch, right?_

\- _I don't know yet, but people seem to like how things run right now._ She made a small pause for breath in and out. _But I find him… specific. You'll see when you come back._

\- _About that._ Kyle didn't think out what to say to them yet. _I'm not sure if I can come back._

\- _Why? Something happened?_ Lena was really concerned now, not what Kyle wanted. _Something wrong?_

- _There is, actually, but I rather no talk it through radio._

Lena didn't respond for almost a minute. Kyle was almost sure he said something wrong. Up until she spoke again.

\- _But we need you back, Kyle. Not only me but many people. I have bad feelings about this guy._

Kyle started wondering. He didn't want to add his problems to theirs, but on the other hand, he still needed to deliver those vials to Dr. Camden. And they needed his help, so how he could say no?

\- _I will try, but I'm not really feeling good right now._ He made a pause for a deep breath before continuing. _Something happened to me. I can't explain it now. But I'll do my best to make it to The Tower. I also have that supposed cure I told you last time, we spoke. But it's in vain._ It didn't come through his mouth easily. Kyle didn't want to admit he failed them all, but he had to, so he continued. _It is not a cure, but poison. I was hoping maybe Dr. Camden will try to analyze it and see if he can take something out of it._

\- _But u seemed so sure it is it. You told us it made you were immune to infected._ Lena seemed surprised.

\- _I know, but it has serious side effects. Best is to talk about it when I'm gonna come back._

\- _Ok then. We'll be waiting. Give us a heads up if you gonna have any difficulties._

\- _I will_.

Kyle heard a crack and walkie stopped transmitting. He turned it off and hid in his bag. The sun settled on the sky completely and started his trip. Kyle knew he needed to do it too, but he felt so weak. He wasn't sure if he can get up at this point. He closed his eyes for a few seconds. Maybe if he remains here laying some zombie gonna come and finish him and he won't have to worry anymore. But Kyle quickly chased away that thought. It wasn't the way he acts. He is not a passive spectator of events. He was a fighter. Telling it to himself gave him a little strength, which might be enough to get up.

His muscles tried to resist, but finally, they complied and he lifted himself up to straight pose. He was still dizzy but was able to move slowly into the direction of The Passthrough. He had no idea how he can make his way on top of this cliff, but right now more important was to get there. He will worry about climbing later.

The journey wasn't easy nor short. Kyle felt the sweat forming on his back and forehead due to immense effort he had to put into walking. He felt it was slowly getting worse and worse, but he pushed forward, knowing if he fails this time, he might as well not get back and fail to deliver this substance to Doctor. It might be key to his research. And maybe, but only maybe he might be able to stop whatever was happening to him. He grabbed on this thought.

Although the trip took him about an hour, which in normal condition would be about a quarter of this time, Kyle felt like few good hours of suffering. When he finally made to the spot, he allowed himself to rest a little. He found a nice spot under a tree where he sat down. He was so lucky that no zombies seemed to care about him right now. Maybe they all knew how screwed he was. Either way fighting his way here won't be possible in his current condition.

While sitting and regaining a little bit of strength for the rest of the trip he looked around to see if there are any easy way up on the cliffs. He didn't felt like scouter climbing this thing up. So he was looking for any ledges to walk on. He managed to find few spots here and there, where he might be able to walk on, but the way up is still gonna be tough.

He looked into his bag to see if he has anything helpful. After a quick search, he found his grappling hook and few energy bars, which might help him on his way up. He drank some water since he felt so dried out and started to prepare himself for this. He put his grappling hook on his hand hoping it would be enough to lift him up the cliff. The hardest was to finally stand up. He wasn't sure if the effort needed to get up won't deplenish his strength too much, but either way, it had to be done eventually. So he gathered all strengths he had and slowly stand up. He felt like his legs were jelly, but he kept walking towards the cliffside.

The first ledge wasn't that hard and it allowed him to climb easily enough ten or more feet up. But the next one required a jump. Kyle prepared his grappling hook and made sure he has running start. He was hoping at this point to not break his neck. He started his run and tried to jump far enough to reach the other ledge. He almost made it, but he missed by few inches and he had to grab it with his hands. For a moment Kyle hung over sharp rocks, but he managed to shoot grappling hook and lift himself up. And it was just a beginning. He had to make a few other hard jumps to get to the top.

When he finally got back on the ledge again, he felt exhausted by the tremendous effort he had to put into not falling. But he needed to keep moving, so he stood up with a lot of effort from him. The few next steps and ledges were not that hard like the previous one, but nonetheless still tricky. Kyle managed to go through them, but here he was about to come to the real challenge. Climbing. On silk and steep cliffside. He couldn't use grappling hook there since the base of the rocks was too unstable. He had to climb it only with his strength.

\- _Here we go._ He looked down. Fall from this hight would certainly kill him.

Kyle made few first steps and clutched onto nearby pointing rocks to try and lift himself up. His feet couldn't find stable support and kept sliding off.

\- _Oh, come one._ He hissed with a lot of effort.

But finally, he managed to find a stable rock to step on and he started moving up the hill. It wasn't an easy journey, especially without equipment or weakened as Kyle was. But eventually, he managed to get on top. Not without any difficulties. There were few moments when he thought he won't make it, but ultimately it all ends up good.

After this part of climbing, everything went smoothly and more easily than Kyle anticipated. He was tired but kept pushing forward. Not long after, he was finally in sewers. It was now a straight path to The Tower and his friends. He managed to find the way in, he used before and get out on to the surface. Midday sun blinded him and made him shield his eyes from it. When his eyes adjusted, he was finally able to see the surrounding area.

Here he was back in Harran again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _And part two arrived! I hope you enjoy my story so far. The most interesting part is coming soon. Can't wait to publish it :)_
> 
> _Version 1.0 ~ 04/05/20_   
>  _Version 1.1 ~ 18/05/20 Added chapter photo_


	4. Harran Back Again

* * *

**CHAPTER 4: Harran Back Again**

* * *

Kyle knew at this point he won't make it into to The Tower. Hi staggered really badly and finally fell. All his strengths left him completely. So it looks like he will die here. In the middle of the street full of zombies. They all knew how worthless he was right now. They didn't even care.

Kyle tried to move forward, but it was harder and harder with each move. His vision was so blurry he couldn't see where he was heading. Maybe if he hides in one of the buildings nearby and takes a break, he might make it finally into The Tower. He looked around at effort. There was something looking like a green shop with a big window. Kyle starter to crawl into its direction hoping doors won't be locked. That was all he needed right now.

Fortunately, doors were open and he managed to get in and shut the doors. It seemed he was alone in there, so he finały lied down on the cold floor. He just wanted to take a break, but he knew also it won't be enough. With his last bits of strength, he took his walkie out of the bag and called The Tower.

\- _Tower? It's Crane... I won't make it. Can...can you send someone to pick something up from me?_

The only answer was white noise. Kyle cursed badly, all he needed right now was to someone to answer him. He was about to try again when he heard a transmission from his radio.

- _Kyle? It's Lena, Please hang on there. I'll send someone for you. Where are you?_

Kyle tried to remember where he exited sewers.

- _I exited sewers about two blocks from The Bazar. I..._ Kyle hesitated but continued. _I think I'm on the street corner in some kind of green shop._

\- _Alright, hang on. They'll be there for you soon._ Lena was still saying something, but Kyle no longer heard her.

He managed to contact them and now he can finally rest. His radio fell somewhere next to him, but he no longer cared. His eyelids were so heavy, he couldn't keep them open. Slowly darkness was surrounding him, but this time he didn't mind it. He just wanted to rest.

But soon enough he heard some noises, but he was unable to identify them. It sounded like someone entered the shop, but he didn't care about it. It might be zombie or thug. Let this be over with.

Kyle felt someone was shaking him, probably trying to wake him up or rip him into pieces. At this point, Kyle experienced flashbacks of what was happening to him.

Some faces over him, talking and looking worried. Then he felt they were lifting him up, probably trying to take him into the safe zone. Some more scenery changes. Kyle saw the sky and few changing buildings. Was he moving? Or the buildings were?

Finally, they entered some dark areas and sun stopped to blind him. Instead, he saw fluorescent light. Is he in a safe place? He didn't care. More faces appeared. Someone was touching him on his face, some gentle hands wiped some sweat from his eyes. Was it Jade? No... She died. He watched it. He did it. He was the one responsible for her death.

More changes to scenery. He was in the elevator. It felt so bumpy. Was is an old Tower's elevator? He saw some parts of the ceiling. It certainly looked like Tower. It's not safe for them, he tried to tell them, but couldn't move his mouth. He was so tired, maybe if he sleeps for a while he might be able to speak with them later.

No. He needed to tell them. Now. There was something. He needs to give it to Lena. She was the only one who he can trust with it. He tried to call her, but no sound came out of his mouth. It was important. He can't give up now. Kyle tried to focus all his strength on this one thing. He managed to mutter something, but it certainly wasn't "Lena". He tried again. This time it was closer to what he wanted to say. He hoped she heard that. He was just about to try and call her again when he heard a response.

\- _Yes, Kyle. I'm here._

It sounded so strange like she was in another room and he barely understood what she said. He needed to tell her something. Something very important. It was in his bag. Where was his bag?

\- _My bag..._ Kyle started to search for it around him blindly. Did he lose it? _Fuck, my bag._

Suddenly he felt someone put something on him. His hands went to check what was that. His bag! He didn't lose it. But he needed to give Lena those vials. They are important. To do this he needed to open his eyes. It was very difficult. His eyelids felt so heavy right now, but he managed to open them for a moment. He quickly found what he was looking for and reached out to Lena. He needed to give it to her. He tried his best not to drop them. Lena managed to take them from his shaking hand. She hid them into her medkit bag. But Kyle needed to tell her it's dangerous.

\- _Don't use it. Don't give it to anyone._ Kyle mumbled hoping she understood. It shouldn't be used. She has to keep it safe though. But Dr. Camden. He needs to get this.

\- _Give it to Camden._ Kyle needed to tell her that.

With saying it, he calmed down. He told her everything he needed. He now can submit to darkness.

No.

Wait.

He can't. It's too dangerous. If he is in The Tower, he puts everyone into danger. He didn't want to hurt anyone.

With a groan, he tried to stand up, but Lena's hands put him down again. He heard her trying to talk to his senses.

\- _Kyle, don't try to get up. You can't move in this condition. It's too dangerous for you._

She had no idea it was far more dangerous to all of them. Kyle with last bits of strength managed to tell her that before finally falling unconscious.

- _Restrain me... Tie me... Please._

It was the last thing he heard himself speaking. He was being consumed by darkness and he couldn't do anything about it. He just submitted to it, since he already depleted all his strengths to fight it. He was completely unaware of everything happening around him.

* * *

It might be a few hours or few days, Kyle couldn't tell. He was almost like suspended between this dark fog inside his mind. He couldn't reach out to the outside world. Like all his limbs and senses were shut down. It was a truly scary experience being trapped inside his own mind. He had no idea what was happening with him but suspected. If the night came he might turn again. He was hoping Lena got the last message and did what he asked her to do.

What if they didn't tie him in time? Or he broke free and started to wreak havoc around and inside of Tower? Dark scenarios were all over Kyle's head. And the guilt. All those people. He can't have more of them on his conscience. There were his friends, people who depended on him. And he might become also their demise. Kyle couldn't take it anymore. He needed to wake up. It was very important.

But he couldn't find anything he might grab onto. It was like a void, where he couldn't really move unless he found any kind of support. It was a terrifying feeling, but Kyle couldn't just let go. He was after all a fighter. He needed to fight his way out of this. He focused his whole both mental and physical strength on making one slight movement, which was moving his finger a bit. If he can't do this, then sure he won't be able to open eyes. It took a lot of effort, but ultimately he felt it. He could feel his finger moving a tiny bit. He tried to do the same with the rest of his fingers and finally he could even move his entire hand. Now was about to come tough part - regain control over his legs and then rest of his body. He had to fight for a bit with this inertia and lack of feeling, but finally, he started to feel tingling. At first in his feet, then in calves and then it went quickly. He was able to feel his entire body. It was a wonderful feeling, especially after being suspended in this void for so long.

Kyle tried to open his eyes but found they are covered by something. It felt wet and a little cooler than the rest of environment. Some kind of poultice, maybe. He tried to take it off, but out of a sudden his hand was blocked. He tried with the other hand and it happened again too. What was going on? Why he can't move his hands? Kyle started to investigate it and soon discovered his hands are in some kind of metal rings. Is he cuffed? Did Lena listen to his warning? He felt even more relieved. If she managed to cuff him in time, then everyone should be alright.

But there still was the matter of this material on his eyes, which was obstructing his view. He tried to shake it off his head and it slid off a bit, but it was enough. He finally could see and look around. Not much, because it was dark in there and his view was still a bit blurry, but Kyle managed to recognize this place. It was his room. They probably located him in there, because the medical bay was too overwhelmed with sick people. Maybe it was for their own protection too. If night came he certainly turned. Now when Kyle was thinking about it, he was surprised why they didn't shoot him the moment he started to behave like a zombie.

He started to look around to see as much as he could considering it was dark. His room didn't change much. His trophies and posters were in place, which was nice, but there were few minor changes. They sealed off his window with some kind of foil and tape. There were also a few additional stools and a chair. His stuff was moved aside from his table and now there was lying some kind of medical equipment. Probably Lena needed more space to try and examine him.

Kyle started to wonder how long it was been since they brought him back. Few hours? Maybe another day? He didn't felt too good still, but maybe some rest helped him brought some of his strength back. His thoughts were interrupted by some kind of noises from outside of his room. He strained to hear what was that about. He heard few voices. Arguing about something. Maybe about him? He managed to recognize Lena's voice, but other than that, he knew there were at least two men arguing too.

Kyle heard the doors handle being turned and opening doors squeak. Bandage slid off completely from his face when he was cranking his neck to see the door better. When the door opened the brightness blinded him for a moment and he had to squint to adjust to a new environment. Figures quickly shut the door and Kyle could finally see. They all stopped right next to the doors like in uncertainty if they can come closer. Kyle tried to tell them, that it's him, but all he could do was mutter incomprehensibly.

They were whispering between themself, but Kyle couldn't recognize a word out of it. They were concerned? Scared? Angry? Maybe all of it a bit. One thing Kyle was sure about - they were talking about him, but he didn't care much about it. He was so tired. He needed a good sleep to bring back his energy and clear his mind.

His eyelids dropped. He was going back to the darkness again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _The story's inciting incident is finally coming! The next chapter will be the big one!_
> 
> _Version 1.0 ~ 04/05/20_   
>  _Version 1.1 ~ 18/05/20 Added chapter photo_


	5. Hard Choices

* * *

**CHAPTER 5: Hard Choices**

* * *

This time darkness was almost like salvation to Kyle. He no longer felt pain and all his worries went aside. There was just him and the fog. Nothing mattered. His mind couldn't focus on anything, almost like all his thoughts were slipping over his fingers when he tried to catch them. Maybe it was for best? He didn't have to worry about tomorrow nor yesterday. This numbness was a blessing to Kyle, but also a curse.

He had this feeling, really aching one in back of his head, he had work to do. He just couldn't remember what it was. The more he tried to think of it, the more lost he felt. Almost like the fog was holding him back, making him a prisoner of his mind. Unaware of the surroundings and stripped of the ability to think clearly. But this feeling couldn't last forever, right? That was what Kyle hoped at least. He knew he needed to wake up from this... nightmare? But how? There needs to be something, he can grasp onto.

He tried hard to think about it. The job. He had a job to do. What was that? He was sent somewhere... for something. Cure! But it wasn't cure. And he got it. Now he started to remember. There was something more... it was a poison. And it made him wrong. Turn him... into a monster.

That thought was the power he needed to wake up. Monster. And he was in The Tower, full of people he was a threat to. Slowly numbness was going away and Kyle started to feel and hear all around him. His heart beating, heavy breathing, and some other sounds. They were all around him. The wheezing of nearby person, some melody playing from the radio steps and creaky floor as well as some chatter of few people. He tried to focus on the last sounds, but he kept being distracted by all things around him. He started to be annoyed by it. It made no sense to him. He was never that sensible to sounds before.

The first time when he opened eyes, he couldn't see a thing. Almost like darkness was surrounding him still. When he blinked a few times, he realized it's nothing wrong with his eyes. The room he was in, was just dark. The bits of dim light poured from not entirely closed doors. Kyle saw few moving shadows under the door. He quickly matched the sounds he heard - someone was walking back and forth in front of his room. Guard? Probably. After all, he was slowly becoming a monster.

Kyle looked around more intensively. His eyesight already got used to the darkness and he could see much better. Even too good considering circumstances. There was no one else inside his room, but he could sworn he heard someone's breath right next to him just a moment ago. Could that be something he imagined? He felt much better. The dizziness and confusion he felt last time, he managed to wake up, was gone and his mind was completely clear. It wasn't it, he knew it. The thought occurred to him. What if... No. That wasn't possible. He was sure of it, but he tried anyway.

He focused on sounds again and managed to fish out one of them. Melody coming from a radio. Some kind of song. He heard woman signing and some of the white noises distorting transmission. It was loud enough to be located in this room, but he couldn't pinpoint its location looking around. Then it struck him. It was in another room. The sounds came here from all the way corridor and next doors. But why it was so loud to him? He couldn't understand. Usually, people kept their radios on low volume to not disturb the rest of residents, since there was almost no privacy in The Tower. Did it mean he got super hearing? No. Not like a superpower. More like one of the side effects of infection consuming him and turning into a mindless zombie. He shook his head and tried to scratch it, but his hands were still cuffed to the metal bend of bed.

It created some noises and alarmed someone from outside of his room. A face looked inside the room and noticed Crane awake. As soon Kyle saw his face it disappeared and he heard footsteps walking away. Guard probably went somewhere to tell he woke up. Kyle didn't have to wait long for them to return. This time with the company. Kyle heard them talking.

 _\- I'll be fine. Stay here._ Mysterious voice made a pause. _Or better have a walk around this floor. Go check if everything is alright. I'll call you when I'm done._

It was obvious whoever that was didn't want eavesdropper nearby and wanted to keep this meeting somewhat private. Door opened with a creak and the figure came inside. A tall man in his forties stood still for a moment making an assessment of the situation and scanning Kyle from top to bottom before he spoke.

 _\- Well, well._ Men looked straight into Kyle's face and came closer to his bed. _So, you are the famous Kyle Crane I heard about. The best runner in entire Harran._ He nodded his head in disappointment. _And yet, fall so low. Such a pity._

\- _And who the hell are you?_ Kyle didn't like to be mocked on.

\- _Oh, where are my manners?_ Men smiled. _You've met the Hannibal Brake in flesh. A new manager of The Tower._

\- _Hannibal Brake?_ Kyle remembered what Lena told him earlier.

\- _Oh, you've heard about me. I'm flattered._

\- _What you want?_

\- _Straight into business!_ He seemed pleased. _Well, I came for two main reasons. One being just curious and the second one - I came for the answers. So if you won't mind I'll cut straight to it._ He made a small pause. _I was informed you were sent to Countryside with a mission of bringing back a cure, which, by the way, you failed completely. But._ He made a dramatic pause. _You managed to brought interesting souvenirs. Would you mind telling me, what it is?_

While saying that, Hannibal took out of his pocket one of the vials Kyle gave to Lena.

\- _It's poison._ It was a completely true answer, but he didn't want to get into details over it with him. He didn't trust him.

- _Yes, yes. We all've heard of. But what it does? How it works?_ But Hannibal insisted and his face started to be contorted with a grimace.

\- _This shit is very dangerous and shouldn't be messed with under any circumstances._ Kyle couldn't let it to be used here. _It should be handed over to Dr. Camden in The Old Town._

- _Ahh, more avoiding questions. You still haven't said what it does. And I don't have a whole day to listen to yours lectures, Mr Crane._

Hannibal leaned over Kyle's face and whispered.

_\- So. It would be best to tell me, what I want or I'll be forced to send few people to test it for me. So what's gonna be?_

People to test it. This was the one thing Kyle couldn't allow to happen. He couldn't allow for more like him to be created using it. He had no choice than to said what this serum does.

\- _Fine._ Kyle said that very reluctantly. _It has two mine uses. Both are achieved in airborne form, either via burning it or spraying it. It makes you immune to zombie bites, but you have to use it regularly, very much like antizine._ Kyle stopped for a second not sure if tell it to Hannibal.

\- _Go on. You still need to tell me about the other use._

\- _It basically makes zombies not see you. Either if you use it on them or yourself. But it's temporary effect..._

\- _Wonderful. And what about liquid form? What happens if you take it?_

This question was right to the point and was almost like a blade cutting through Kyle's skin. He tested it and knew exactly what happens after that. It was painful truth and Kyle still haven't accepted it and now complete stranger was asking him about it.

- _It has a big side effect..._ He started hesitantly, but the other men interrupted him.

\- _Oh, I think I know even what._ _Tell me, Crane._ A crooked sneer was all over his face now. He knew this was a weak point and took the whole advantage of it. He made a few steps forward to him. _How does it feel to know, you gonna become monster?_

Kyle was in despair right now. He knew where this conversation was going. This man intended to use this substance and didn't realize or cared how dangerous it was to everyone. This wasn't good.

\- _Hannibal, don't use it. It's really dangerous..._

\- _Well, thanks to you, I know now how to not use it. It would still have great use to us._

\- _You don't understand. This shit is as much dangerous both airborne and in liquid form. The only difference is it will take more to have the same effect in airborne form._

- _Well, that's still doable. I think we can still have a chance with it, but I'll think about it. But now, the more pressing matter._

Hannibal started to walk back and forth in Kyle's room looking around. He seemed now thoughtful and was struggling to what say next.

\- _Tell me, Crane._ He made a slight pause to look at him with slight anger on his face. _What the hell am I do with you? And this is a rhetorical question. You see, it's rather obvious it's not a place for you. You pose a great risk to everyone in this building right now, so I would be glad to get rid of you, but... I don't really want to piss those people off, you know? You have a lot of supporters here, Crane. Way too many. Some of them take you, as their savior. And while they all know about... your problem, most of them don't believe it._

\- _But I think I might have a solution. You see they don't believe, up until they see with their own eyes. And until you are locked in this room, cuffed to this bed I can't do much. So I have a proposal. I let you go, out of my good heart, after you show us all your true self. In for of small... well performance._ Sneer hung in the air.

\- _What?!_ Kyle thought he overheard that. _You want me to turn in front of those people?! Are you out of your mind?_

\- _Well, not just like that in front of them. I was thinking more like in a cage... or better. In arena. You could show them all how crucial it is to stick together or otherwise they'll end up like you..._

Kyle couldn't believe what he heard. Hannibal wanted to make a monkey out of him. Put him on display like a wild animal to be poked around and watched by everyone. Hell no, he's gonna agree on that.

\- _You're insane to believe I'll take part in your freakshow._ Kyle had to yell that to him. It didn't matter to if anyone heard him.

The menacing smile on Hannibal's face was the only reaction from him. He was teasing with Kyle and knew exactly how to hit him to the heart. This man was definitely both dangerous and mad at the same time. He had a coat of decency, but when it came to real business his true nature came to the light. This man was not to be messed around with.

\- _There is another option. We can just simply get rid of you. Just like that. No one wants such a monster next to them and let's be honest. You are a MONSTER, Crane. You can't deny it. And in these times monsters had to be put down. One way... or another._

The threat was real. He could do that. Kyle was afraid it might come to this. This was not the way he imagined it though. Not such a shameful death. He was a fighter and he always imagined die in battle. Either from the hands of foe or zombies. He was prepared to die, which didn't mean he wanted to. This was his reality, which he faced every day he went out of The Tower as a runner. But dying slaughtered like an animal. This wasn't something he could agree for.

And he still couldn't stop fighting. If this guy, Hannibal had really intension on using the serum, then it was something he could fight for. For keeping everyone safe from dangerous substance and its side effects. He could accept the fate that happened to him just to save people. That was after all, what he was doing up until now. Protecting even at the cost of his life.

The anger rose inside of him. Like never before, Kyle could feel it come to his muscles, through his veins. Rushing through him and making him take action. It was a wonderful feeling, but also scary. This power. Endless energy. He was sure, he could do anything right now. And it scared him. He never felt like that before. But he could use it anyways.

Hannibal saw a slight change in the man lying on the bed. The fierce light in his eyes and then muscles. His eyes widened open when he saw Kyle make his move. It was a split second and man fried his right hand by tearing cuffs out. With hand swing, the other hand was free too and he was about to untie his legs. Hannibal started to retreat. It was clear he underestimated this man and now he had to run for his life. As he turned around toward the door, he felt an impact on his back. He managed to cry out for help before being tossed to the wall by Crane.

\- _GUARDS!_

Kyle knew he had only a few seconds for action. As soon as the limp body of Hannibal hit the wall, he was already there. He grabbed him and made him stand while still pressing him by the wall. He started to search frantically through his pockets for those vials he had shown him earlier. As soon as he felt known shape on Hannibal's jacket, the reinforcements charged into the room. He had no more time. He almost tore apart jacket while grabbing those vials.

The limp body of Hannibal was shoved into one of the armed guards which made him lose his footings. The other two guys were reading to attack him with a baseball bat and a police baton. The first man struck, but Kyle dodged it easily. He fought a lot in his career and he knew how to handle this kind of weapons, but he didn't want to hurt anyone in the process. The tight space wasn't on advantage to anyone. It was as hard to dodge for Kyle as make enough swing for guards. The first few hits missed Kyle, but it wasn't possible anymore when the third guy stand up finally. He had to act quickly and disarm them.

Using nearby chair Kyle launched himself into the air and made dropkick to the first opponent. It made him fall and loosen the grip on his weapon. Exactly what Kyle needed. With a quick move, he managed to snatch his baseball bat. Now they can talk. With hard swing on the second guard, he made him stumble into the wall and fall on his friend. This gave an opening for the gunner, but Kyle anticipated it and ducked just before he heard shoot. It made his ears almost bleed from this sharp sound being way to close to him. It hurt a lot. Made him stagger for a moment, but Kyle knew he can't let himself stop. He gathered all strengths and jumped into the last man to disarm him. He managed to push rifle upwards when men fired again. The noise was almost unbearable for Kyle and made him grimace. But with a strong pull, he managed to disarm the guard and hit him with stock.

It granted Kyle with the opening. Doors were no longer blocked, so he rushed through them. The moment he stepped in the corridor he saw more men running into him. He needed to get out of here, but the elevator was for sure not a good idea. The only option he had left was to get the rooftop and climbing by the crane to the other building. He rushed through corridors chased by more men. He had to maneuver between Tower residents he stumbled upon his way. Few clever parkour moves allowed him to jump over them. He managed to get to the staircase when he heard whizz over his ear. They were using throwing stars on him. He made big jumps on his way up. He hoped doors weren't locked. With all strength, he kicked off the doors making them open widely and for sure breaking lock.

Sun made him blind for a second and he staggered. The sun! It was so awfully bright. His eyes were unable to bear this light. He kept blinking furiously to see anything. With hand shielding his eyes from the sun, Kyle saw it. The crane! It was on the other side. He had no way out of the roof. He stopped in the middle looking shocked. Panic started to arise in Kyle and he tried the hardest to think a way out of this. He can't just jump down. Its twenty floors, goddammit!

Then he looked back at the rooftop doors. They were already there!

Fuck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I was so excited about this one I had to rewrite it once before publishing. First bits of action and what's more important - the first encounter between two of my lead characters. And a little cliffhanger for you all :)_
> 
> _Version 1.0 ~ 04/05/20_   
>  _Version 1.1 ~ 18/05/20 Added chapter photo_


	6. Run for a Life

* * *

**CHAPTER 6: Run for a Life**

****

* * *

At this moment Tower's guards rushed on the roof, fully armed with batons, blades, knives, and guns. There was no way he could fight them all. They for sure gonna kill him. He stood still waiting for their move and looking for a solution. In a matter of few seconds, he saw more men come to the rooftop and amongst them - Hannibal with a bloody nose. He looked completely pissed off by Crane. It could be a problem.

\- _And now what you gonna do?_ Hannibal shouted at Kyle while standing in front of the group. _No way out of it Crane, huh?_

Kyle knew he was right, but he didn't even flinch. This damn sun was so overpowering for him. Drops of sweat started to form on his forehead and back, due to heat and fatigue. It wasn't a good position for Kyle.

- _How about you gonna hand over those vials and we will not treat you as enemy?_

Lies. Kyle knew what Hannibal was going to do with him and he didn't like none of it.

\- _You know I can't let you take them._ He pointed at vials Kyle had in his hand. _One way or another you gonna give them back to us._

Kyle was thinking hard about a way out not listening to what a leader had to tell him. It was a stall for justifying killing him. He had to come up with a plan before he gonna lose patience and try to shoot him. Then he saw it. Scaffoldings and some kind of fabric fluttered in the wind a few floors lower than Kyle was. He could potentially grab into it if he can make this jump. But the distance between those two buildings was way too big to jump over. But he definitely had more strengths than a normal person. He could feel it and saw it in action. This could potentially be his way out, but a very risky one. Probably the rashest idea he ever had, but he was desperate right now.

\- _So what is gonna be? Would you hand it over?_ Hannibal was still playing his role of a good leader.

Kyle looked at group of men standing there, ready to rush to fight. Some of them were his friends, known faces, and some strangers. Fear, hesitance, anger. All of those emotions among this group. Some of them weren't sure how to feel about this whole situation. After all, Kyle was still one of theirs, but he was also the one who started it and they saw what he can do. Now all of them saw him as a danger, enemy, maybe even crazy man. This was a freakshow Hannibal that badly wanted. He got what he wanted. Bastard.

He looked back at the building. _It is doable. Has to be..._ He kept saying that to himself. He had to do it. He closed his eyes for a second and took a deep breath. He was ready.

But Hannibal saw a change on his face. The fear was replaced with determination. It was a cue for him to shout.

\- _Stop him! Shoot!_

Kyle started his run towards the edge of the rooftop. He heard guns firing and bullets hitting the ground around him, but he couldn't stop. Especially now. With his last bits of strength he put into his legs, Kyle catapulted himself over the abyss. The time slowed down. He felt the wind taking out all of his breath and sough in his ears. His hands were desperately swinging through the air trying to catch a fragment of the fabric. The distance between him and a piece of fabric was reducing as fast as his hight advantage. For a second he thought he won't make it, but his fingers managed to grab it in the air. Now he was falling and pulling over the fabric with him. He had a hope it was attached to something and will be able to withstand his weight and momentum.

The sharp snap made Kyle almost let it go, but he managed to hang on it. Now the momentum was making him fly right into the wall of the building and scaffolds. Kyle didn't think through this part. He prepared himself for a hard impact by the wall. This hurt him a lot. He felt bone in his arm crack and he howled with pain. His vision went dark for a second and he felt falling again. He was desperately trying to grab into something. His hand found scaffold pipe and Kyle grasped it with all his strength to avoid the fall.

It took him a few seconds for his vision to clear out and he found himself hanging on one hand over a ten-floor drop. His right hand hung down limply by his side. He looked around. How on earth is he gonna pull up with only one hand? Then he saw a scaffolding under him. He had to swing yourself and land on it. The noises came to him from the other building. The men gathered by the edge and were looking down at him. They couldn't believe he made that jump. No human could make it. Then he heard the yell.

\- _SHOOT HIM!_

He couldn't wait any longer and he tried to swing himself. The first bullet was shot and it was a cue for Kyle to jump. So he did. He managed to land on the scaffolding, but he nearly didn't make it. The window was in front of him, so he jumped right through it into the building. The glass shards cut his skin and face, but all he cared about was not to be shoot. The burning in his wounds was horrible. He could feel every piece of glass cutting him. It made him stumble and he nearly fall, but he couldn't stop. Not right now.

Overcoming the pain he stood up and started to move towards the floor's staircase. But there was no stairs. Just a two-floor gap and lots of rubble under it. He could easily parkour this one out if he had his second hand working. He looked down. It wasn't that high, right? He fallen from higher places. He'll be fine. So he did, jumped down. Mid-flight he prepared himself for a hard landing, but rubbles made it less painful to him. He slid down on it to the below floor. He wished, he could stay there for a moment to catch a breath and rest for few minutes, but he knew runners from Tower were on their way down and he needed to get out of this building fast.

He looked down the staircase. Fortunately, the rest of it seemed intact and he could climb it down normally. He stood up with a lot of effort and went down. Kyle tried to hurry, but the pain from all parts of his body made it difficult for him. He was limping from last fall and tried his best not to stumble on stairs. He managed to get down to the second floor, but he had a problem. The rest of the staircase was blocked off by some furniture and a net. He couldn't waste his time to move those things aside, so he looked around. There were a couple of apartments not locked, so he went into one of them. The window was coming out on the hidden side of the building. He looked through it. It was about one and a half floor drop for him, but what other choice he had?

He kicked out the glass and made it fall into pieces. Few more kicks and the sharp edges fell off too. He went through it and stood on the ledge. Kyle looked down. There was nothing to absorb his fall and he wasn't sure if he can soft-land considering all bruises he had. But the multiple footsteps and shouts came to Kyle's ears.

\- _Where is he?_

\- _Go check inside, I'll see around the building._

Kyle knew time was up and jumped down. As he expected the landing didn't go well. His strained ankle protested when he tried to get up. He couldn't afford for more stalling. He tried to move as fast as he can to hide between buildings. Few more steps and he hid in the shadow of nearby shack. He looked back. The men emerged from around the corner looking for him. He kept moving forward in his slow limp walk, hoping they would focus on the tall building instead of looking around it.

As soon as he thought that one of the Tower runners yelled.

\- _He has to be inside. He couldn't get out of it that fast._

This was a true twist. Kyle didn't think much but took a chance to flee from the scene. He made his way to the Highway in hopes of finding shelter. The scratches and cuts on his face and body hurt a lot, but he kept moving. He couldn't stop, especially when he was much slower than the runners. His number one priority was to find a safe place to hide and wait out the chase. If he can't find it soon the runners going to catch him.

The sun was still high up on the skies and made him almost blind. This sensitivity to light sucks. He wondered if it was permanent. He needed something to cover his eyes with because now he felt like a blind man. The whole scenery was filled with white beams of light. Every reflective surface was a pain to his eyes since it reflected shines into him. He could see only for a few feets. At least zombies didn't pay attention to him. Probably because he was becoming one of them...

He unexpectedly stumbled upon something and almost lost balance and fell. He managed to take support by the nearby bus mask. He looked down and found a bag. Someone left it here while trying to get into the bus while the epidemic began. The owner of the bag was long gone. But Kyle saw something, which still could have a use for someone. And more precisely - for him. A cap! He took it out of the bag and tried on. It made the sun less annoying, but the problem with reflection stayed. Kyle would kill now for a pair of sunglasses. And then it occurred to him. He can try to search through few more bags to see if he can find them. After all, Harran was a sunny city, so it shouldn't be hard.

He went to next few bags and opened them to search through them. The first two were a fail, but finally, in the third one, he found them! Dark sunglasses, which was perfect. He tried them on and it was like a blessing for both him and his eyes. He finally saw something! Maybe not as good as before this whole shit, but it was something! He looked around trying to recognize the area. He was on the road near the Highway. Still too close to The Tower, so he needed to keep moving.

This time with eye protection it was much easier even considering his twisted ankle and many bruises. He stopped bumping into things by accident. While slowly pacing he could wander much greater distance than before. He looked around. He had to find shelter. The few houses nearby looked way too demolished and had no door nor windows. He was looking for something, he could bunker himself up. And then in the distance - perfect candidate. House with metal bars in windows and looking intact. He headed that way, but as he was approaching it, he noticed a slight problem. The ground door was obstructed by some crates and canes. Kyle was in no condition for moving this thing aside. He circled the building to realize there was no other way inside on the ground level. He spotted doors on the balcony on the first floor, but will he be able to get there?

His ears picked up some distant chatter of people. The runners! They were still searching for him and they headed this way, which means he had to hurry. He looked around to see if he can maybe parkour this one from the higher ground but found nothing to support himself up. He might need to hide in one of the open houses and hope the runners won't spot him. Then he saw it. A window to the basement. It wasn't secured with bars. This was his way in. Tight, but still, a way in. He crouched and pulled the window up to open it. He couldn't risk breaking the window and alarming both zombies and runners about his whereabouts. He then tried to squeeze in, but it wasn't easy with a broken arm. It would be awkward if he got stuck and runners would find him like that. Oh no. That was exactly something he didn't want to happen.

With a lot of effort, he finally fell inside. Fortunately, he didn't make a lot of noise. It was completely dark in there, so he had to stand up leaning on things blindly. He tried to close the windows silently to not give out his position, but the rusty mechanism jammed. He couldn't pull it with all his strength, so he gave up and hoped they won't see it.

Kyle backed himself into shadows and waited. This was all he could do now. Wait and see.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Version 1.0 ~ 08/05/20_   
>  _Version 1.1 ~ 18/05/20 Added chapter photo_


	7. Outcast

* * *

**CHAPTER 7: Outcast**

* * *

The runners came back to The Tower when the sun started to settle down. It was no go for everyone with a sane mind to be outside at night. Their search was unfruitful and it was something Hannibal couldn't understand. How those idiots couldn't find one man? This made him even more furious, but he kept his face firm and calm. He had a role to play. And no mistakes to make. He planned it for far too long to fail this whole operation now. The Crane was just a lucky coincidence that stumbled upon. He didn't need him nor these vials. But those would greatly help him. He couldn't say no to an opportunity like this. Too bad it didn't work out.

Hannibal was standing on Headquarters balcony overlooking the darkening city. Somewhere there was a solution. To both his problems and Kyle's. There was still a chance one of them gonna find it, but Hannibal didn't know that. Right now his whole concern was to keep it going according to the plan. The Plan. It was far more important than this pesky fucker, Crane. He might still get his revenge, but now he couldn't afford the luxury of it. He knew also he could still cause more problems and interfere in his operation. This was a problem he might need to think about soon. The actions might need to be taken before the whole operation starts for good. The last thing he needed was to Crane screw things up. But he was still just a single man. What he could do to stop such an undertakement?

The last bits of sun rays were fading away, but man was no longer there. He had a job to do. Couldn't afford more stalls. It was a luxury he didn't have.

With dim light being almost completely gone, the distant roar could be heard. The roar of the monsters. And no one could dare to challenge them.

* * *

The sun rays started to light up the room. They slowly made their way up to the sleeping man. Started crawling up his torn trousers, then dirty shirt, and finally his face. The man twitched waken up by sudden brightness. He blinked few times. It was the morning of the next day. He looked around with an absent gaze. _Where... where he end up now?_

The man rubbed his eyes in confusion. He couldn't remember for a moment what was going on, but soon fragments of yesterday's day came to him. Why did he keep waking up so confused? Like his brain completely stopped working in the night and it was just starting up in the morning. It was a damn unpleasant feeling.

Kyle remembered all now. It looked like they didn't found him since he was still in this basement. Thank God, he managed to find it. Otherwise, it would be really bad for him. He tried to move, but numerous parts of his body screamed with protest. He groaned in pain. He looked down. He was sitting on the floor, leaned by a big standing shelf. His whole shirt was soaked in blood. It had many ripped holes in it, each with a cut wound on his skin. All of them already stopped bleeding.

How on earth he didn't bleed out through the night? Kyle couldn't find an answer for it, but he was glad for his luck. He tried to move his right arm, but the sharp pain was overwhelming. _Goddammit!_ He forgot. His arm ended up as an absorber of impact when he was falling and now he was paying for trying to use it. This damn pain. He tried to touch the sore place on his arm, but the next wave of pain almost made him pass out. He was sure as hell it was broken. How is he going to do anything now?

It was vital to tend his wounds now and find something to stabilize his arm. It was the first time Kyle saw the whole room. When he was running away it was almost pitch black, but now with dim light coming through the window he finally could see better. It was a small room with a bunch of crates and packages on shelves. It seemed not looted by anyone. That was promising, he might even find everything he needed in this room.

Now the tough part. Standing up. It will be ugly. Kyle took few deep breaths in and out to prepare himself, but he couldn't potentially anticipate that much of pain. His biggest struggle was to not pass out from it and trying not to make too much noise.

_GAH._

Kyle couldn't help himself and a small grumble escaped his mouth when standing up. He had to use nearby packages and shelves as support. Otherwise, he won't be able to get up. He was amazed, he managed even get out of The Tower and hide here in this condition. But if he won't find some alcohol and gaza or clean material to clean his wounds, he might still not make it to the other day.

There were a lot of crates to look through to. Usually, it would be best of the best looting spot and Kyle would take his time to collect all valuable things, but now all he wanted to find and make bandages. He still can look for other stuff, but he had more pressing matters than a bunch of junk. The first few packages contained only non-useful stuff and it made him irritated a little. Finally in the sixth or seventh was some kind of cotton cloth. Now he needed some tape and alcohol to disinfect wounds. The tape wasn't hard to find. Most of the boxes were taped with it and it was still lying around on one of them, but alcohol was another matter. Quickly Kyle came to the conclusion there was no alcohol in there. He probably could search through the whole basement and not find it. So it was time to move to other parts of this house. He was hoping to not find there its old inhabitants in any form.

Kyle looked for a hatch in the ceiling and soon found it, but there was a slight problem - no stairs to climb up. Great. He started to think about making a tower of boxes when he noticed an old wooden ladder hidden behind one of the shelves. Taking it out from this corner wasn't easy, but he finally managed to put it in the right place. He slowly climbed up and slightly opened hatch to look around. It was another dark room, but rays of sun lighten up few spots. Kyle noticed few furniture scattered around walls of the room, each left with a bunch of things in disorder. Lots of clothes, bags, spoiled food, things of first need. Someone was packing when the outbreak happened. He looked around, but couldn't see anyone else there.

Well, the room looked promising, so he climbed up completely. From the standing point of view he could look on the table and spotted pills and first aid kit laying there. It was perfect. Maybe he gonna find even painkillers, that would be perfect. Fast he found everything, he needed and could start to tend his wounds, but a new problem emerged. How on earth is he gonna take off this shirt? It became stiff from all dirt and dried out blood. In few spots, he could feel it attached to some of his wounds, so taking it off won't be easy. Also with only one hand operational it gonna be quite difficult. He could use some knife now to help yourself up with it. He started looking in kitchen corner for one and soon found one, but was completely blunt and wasn't able to cut through.

\- _This knife is shit._ He mumbled to himself.

Then he spotted pair of scissors. Using them it was quite easy. Kyle cut through the middle of the shirt up to the collar. Now it looked like some kind of vest. Maybe it could be a new fashion or something. The funny thoughts aside, he tried to take it off but felt a sudden sharp pain in his abdomen, but he kept pulling. With a loud hiss, he managed to take it off. Now he could see the whole amount of damage the shards of the window did to him. His whole chest and abdomen looked like one big open wound with dozens of cuts. Those gonna be damn ugly scars. Few of them started soaking blood a little, probably because of him tempering with the shirt.

The sofa nearby seemed so comfortable Kyle couldn't resist it. He relaxed. A little bit of rest was a blessing for him, but he couldn't now stop. He took few gazes and alcohol and started thinking how to approach this. Sure he could just do every cut one by one, but that was a damn lot of wounds. Without thinking much he just poured alcohol over his whole chest. Maybe not the most efficient way, but sure it was easiest and fastest. Kyle watched it slowly run down and sink into some of the wounds. The moment alcohol came into contact with open tissue it started to prickle a little at the beginning, but further, it went into the wound the more burning sensation came and it became even more and more intense. Soon enough his whole chest was burning and made him pant heavily, but Kyle didn't make any sounds during the whole operation.

He just waited and endured the pain. It could be five minutes or ten, but eventually burning started to gradually diminish up to the point, when it disappeared completely. He looked down on his chest. Streams of both alcohol and blood were still running down his abdomen and started to drop to the sofa under him. He took one of the gazes and started to wipe it away. He tried his best not to open any of the wounds. The next step would be to use some bandages. He decided to just cover his whole chest in it and tape it off to make sure it won't fall off. Easier than patch every cut he had with a separate bandage.

Now his arm. When Kyle got rid of his torn apart shirt, he could finally look closely at the sore place. It swelled a bunch in the upper arm section and turned purple. Kyle could use cold compress right now, but unfortunately, he couldn't find anything in the first aid kit he found. Stabilization will have to suffice then. He looked around to see if there were any objects, he could use for this purpose. Soon he spotted wooden slat lying around baggages. He took it and measured it to see if it fits. It wasn't too solid, but for now, will be enough. He applied it and bandaged it tightly to make sure he won't be able to move it much.

This was a damn stressful day and he felt tired like he didn't sleep the whole night. His eyes were slipping shut, but he tried to stay awake. He needed to refresh himself. Maybe it would help out with this sudden tiredness. He got up from the sofa and headed into the room he presumed to be a bathroom. Some cold water on his face should be enough to wake him up. The room was in a complete mess. Everything was scattered around like someone was looking for something in a panic. Nothing unordinary for Kyle to see around in Harran. He scavenged so many houses since he landed here, this sight started to be usually for him.

The sink. Right, he wanted to wash his face, but his hands and arms could use some of it too. He got closer to it, when it struck him. The mirror. He looked like hypnotized. His face. It didn't look right.

Even in the darkness he managed to see it. The veins. Black veins popped all over his face. He looked like...

\- _Oh shit._

He kept staring at this reflection.

_No. This can't be..._

But it was. Sure it was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _This chapter creates a setup for further action and needs to happen either way or another. Not the best so far, but it would give a lot of answers and even more questions about Kyle's current condition. There will be a similar one soon, but I can't say more about it. You'll have to wait and see._   
>  _Of course, I'm evil and I'm going to leave you with a cliffhanger. But it's just a tiny one. You should already know what is this all about._
> 
> _Version 1.0 ~ 10/05/20_   
>  _Version 1.1 ~ 18/05/20 Added chapter photo_


	8. Transformation

* * *

**CHAPTER: Transformation**

****

* * *

\- _Fuck, fuck. FUCK._

The reflection couldn't lie. Kyle was looking at zombie face. But he could for sure tell it was still his face. His new deformed, zombified visage. The Mother warned him about it. He really did start to turn into the monster.

He knew deep inside him, this could happen. After all, The Mother looked like frickin' Volatile. So this will be his fate too. Kyle clenched his fists tightly and couldn't help himself not to punch the mirror reflection. As if this would make the reality different. The fury arose inside of him and all he wanted right now was to punch, demolish his surroundings, and yell at the universe for his fate. But he couldn't. He refrained himself from it and end up only breaking the whole mirror into pieces.

\- _Screw you! You damn bitch._

This was all he could do. He had no one to turn to. The closest people he had turned against him. They tried to fuckin' shoot him. But now he wasn't surprised by their reaction anymore. They saw in him a monster. He wouldn't hesitate to put any of them down if that would happen to them. Out of mercy. Just like he did with Jade and Rahim. _Jade_. He struck heavily the sink in front of him and made it crack. With one more hit it fell apart and shredded to pieces by his feet. But he didn't care anymore.

His whole life was being torn apart. Piece by piece. He was being slowly stripped from everything dear to him. His friends. Beloved person. Freedom. Humanity... _And all of it in name of what? Being a hero?! What kind of hero turns into a monster?!_

His rage started to slowly diminish. He walked straight to the wall and leaned over it, to just slowly collapse on the ground. He was no hero. Not even once. Sure he tried his best to aid people in need and do the right thing. But throughout this whole time, he was just an errand boy. Dog on loosen leash. He always followed orders. Whoever did pay most or was on hand. It all started with GRE. Then came Rais, The Tower. Finally Faceless and The Mother. They all used him and made him follow them. Sure he did make few of his own choices, but they all fucked up.

If he would listen and do what he was ordered to do in the first place then nothing of this shit would happen. GRE would extract him by now and he would be safe and sound outside of this shit hole and this situation.

This thought amazed him. This was his karma. Fate gave him his payback for all things he did or didn't do. It almost made him laugh at his pity situation. But there was nothing funny about it.

He picked up one of the mirror shards from the ground. For few seconds he didn't know what to do with it. But then he looked again in his distorted reflection. He had to accept this fact. It wasn't a time for denying it. The pale concerned face looked at him back. His eyeholes were slightly sunken down. Or maybe that was just dark circles under his eyes. He couldn't tell. He looked much skinnier than the last time he saw his reflection.

When that was? Back in the Countryside. But it felt like an eternity to Kyle now. This whole place was so surreal to him, that he wasn't even sure if all of this happened. But he had a prove just in front of him. He did fight The Mother. This is what caused this whole thing.

The veins on his face. They stretched back to his neck and back. He looked down at his chest. Now when he knew what to look for, he saw black patterns emerging from under the bandages. His whole arms were covered in it too.

There was no escaping from it. He couldn't deny the truth anymore. He was becoming what he supposed to be from day one in Harran when he was bitten. This will come eventually for everyone here. He was just the one unfortunate enough to be able to retain his mind to watch, how the virus takes slowly his body. And his life.

He shook his head. He won't let that thing win. He did all of this to save those people. This was his fuel for this whole journey. He had to keep moving. And he had a new objective. Kyle reached into his pocket to take out three blue vials. The liquid inside those fragile flasks looked harmless, but he, out of all people, knew better. This was the cause of his state. And it could be also an answer. Maybe it was the last factor Dr. Cadmen needed in his research for a cure.

It was vital to bring them to the Old Town. And he was the one to take them there. No one could be trusted with them. He saw what Hannibal was planning on using them. They were way too dangerous to mess with them. The Mother did a good job of keeping it as a secret for such a long time. But eventually, word spread out and it made Kyle come to the Countryside. The same thing gonna happen here. People gonna start talking about him, a cure. It was inevitable. He had to protect it.

He hid his face in his hands. How is he gonna accomplish that? He is just a one man. Against dozens. If not more. That thought was overpowering for him. He was so tired. All bruises on his body were itching him. He just wanted to go to sleep and forgot about the whole damn thing.

But he couldn't.

It wasn't safe here. Maybe runners didn't found him here yet, but it didn't mean he can stay there. He was way too close to The Tower. He needed to find a better location to stay in. But first things first. Cloths. He can't walk like that on the street.

Kyle lifted himself up with effort and walked out of the bathroom. His goal was to find something that gonna help him hide those changes on his body. So no t-shirts. He was looking for hoodies or jackets. And something to cover his face too. He had a baseball cap and sunglasses, but bandana would be nice. But the scarf would suffice too. He headed toward the wardrobe and looked inside, but it was all empty.

Right. The previous tenant was packing in a hurry. So bags. They were all over the place and Kyle had to search through all of them. He was hoping he gonna find anything of his size. The first two bags didn't contain any clothings and the third one was filled with feminine stuff. It didn't look good. What if he won't find anything? But his worrying stopped the moment he opened the next bag. Men's clothes! He searched through them and finally found what he was looking for. A little worn off a red hoodie and something that looked like bandana of some sorts metal band. He wasn't complaining. In these times every find was useful.

He looked at the tag. It was a little bigger than his size, but maybe it was a good thing. Putting it on was an entirely different story. He couldn't do much with his right hand, so putting it on was quite difficult. He struggled with a hoodie for about five or so minutes, but eventually, he made it work. He had to tie bandana before wearing it since he couldn't lift his right arm. The only things missing were his sunglasses and cap. He had to left them in the basement.

He looked around. He might as well take some stuff from here since his belongings were taken away.

With full pockets of meds and few other useful stuff, he jumped down to the basement. It hurt a little, but he quickly shook off the feeling. The time was up. No more stalls. His things were laying on the ground right where he woke up. So he picked it up and put on. How did he look?

\- _I could use some mirror right now._ He mumbled to himself.

But since he shattered the only mirror in this house to pieces, he had no other alternatives than just get out of this hole and hope for the best. Maybe people won't recognize him.

The crawling out wasn't that bad, as he thought it would. He made it to the street and the brightness blinded him. He forgot to keep his head down and not look straight into the sun. His eyes were pinching from too much light. Maybe it wasn't that good idea to go out now. It was the afternoon when the sun was at his highest. But there was no going back. Kyle had to stick to his plan.

He looked around to remember where he is. Ah, near the Highway. He could use it to travel to The Slabs. Maybe there he can find a safe place to stay and bunker up.

He started his journey. A single man in a reddish hood walking like nothing happened down the streets full of other Infected. And none of the Zombies cared about him. Nothing wrong with that. But he couldn't parkour in this condition. He wasn't feeling up for this just yet. If someone sees him, he can always tell he used cloak potion or something.

But it was both a good and weird feel walking between the Infected. That casually. He was used to jumping between roofs to stay out of the Bitter's reach. Sure he sometimes used camouflage to get out of the trouble, but now it was different. When zombies stopped seeing him as the food he could do whatever he wanted in the daytime. It gave him shivers.

Maybe this infection had some good sides. For example his hearing. It was so sharpened now. He could without problem hear anything trying to sneak upon him. This could get in handy, considering he gonna need to stay away from people from now on.

Kyle looked at the window of a nearby car. His reflection looked back. He didn't look that bad in this suit. If people not gonna poke his nose into none of their business, he might pull this off. He sighed. But how long can he live like that? He wasn't sure.

Then he heard that. Some buzzing sound? He stopped and listened. No, it was men's chatter. Far away from his location or close by, but they were whispering. This made Kyle moving. He quickly jumped behind trash cans of a nearby shop. It wasn't much of the cover, but it had to suffice.

The sounds were getting closer and he could hear what men were talking about. From their conversation, he deduced they were from one of the groups of survivors, that lived around Slums. They were talking about some kind of job. Kyle wasn't sure what they supposed to do but didn't care much. He just wanted to wait out and then head his way, but one particular fragment caught Kyle's attention.

\- _How much do you think Hannibal gonna pay us for his head?_

\- _Dunno. I hope a lot, because this is hell'a big bounty. And I heard..._ One of the men lowered his voice even more. _I heard he had bunch of antizine, back there. He made some kind of deal with someone._

\- _Really?!_ Kyle heard the whistle of the impression. _Oh man, imagine if we could get that bastard and get the payment. We would be golden for... for... forever!_

\- _You think? We could maybe even sell it..._

\- _Oh don't be silly._ The other man's voice became harsh as he disapproved of this idea. _And let those thugs finish us. No... This needs to stay quiet, otherwise, we both end up dead._

Kyle was thinking what the bounty was after, but he didn't had to wait long to find out.

\- _So, you think we can take this Crane out? I heard he is tough one. He beat even Rais!_

\- _Sure we gonna handle him. We need to prepare first tho, so stay quiet for now._

He curled up even more behind trash cans. So Hannibal put out a BOLO for him. That wasn't much of a surprise to Kyle. He did "stole" something, that Hannibal considered being his already. So he did piss him off. But who Kyle didn't piss off during his whole stay here in Harran? He sighed. Now the whole city gonna be against him too. That's not good. Now his disguise won't help much. People won't trade with him. They can make a much better deal by just killing him.

He squeezed his had in anger. _Fuckin' Hannibal... Why everything needs to become even harder every damn day?_ But he couldn't finish this thought since he heard something to his right. Too close to his right.

\- _Hey, I think I saw something over there._

Something, which probably meant Kyle hiding behind trash. He tried to remain as still as possible and hoped the shadow is enough cover. They might not come here since alley behind Kyle's back was full of Bitters. And no survivor wanted to deal with this kind of shit. Like on command, he heard.

\- _Oh, stop shitting yourself._ _That's just bunch of Bitters._ His comrade was vexed about him procrastinating. _I won't go to check it out. I'm not that stupid to get myself eaten alive by those fuckers._

\- _But, I'm pretty sure I saw something or someone over there._ The first man wasn't as convinced as before, but still kept approaching slowly.

\- _Ignore it. Even if that's some kind of creep I don't want to have anything to do with him. Let's go. We still need to make delivery for Gursel. So keep your ass moving._

Kyle waited out almost completely still behind trash cans until their voices faded into noises of an undead city. He was not in a condition to defend himself against people like this. Although he would most certainly go out of this encounter without even a scratch back in the days, but not now. He sighed from his fragility. He never enjoyed being stripped from other options other than just running away.

He slowly clambered out of tight space and kept walking towards the Highway. He didn't had much time left. He had to make this trip before sun goes down. And giving his condition it might be difficult.

The route wasn't the easiest one to travel on. Whole Highway was cluttered with cars, barricades, and Infected. Kyle had to make quite a few pitstops to regenerate his strengths. He didn't think the sun and those wounds are gonna weaken him that much.

He managed to stumble upon the next group of survivors. They weren't as chatty as the ones before, but he didn't want to check if they were on the lookout for him too. The time was shrinking, but Kyle couldn't move from his position not being seen by them. They were not going anywhere and seemed to work on something. He was desperately looking for an opportunity, but there was none to come. With quick pray, he decided the best thing to do was to run for his life and hoped they won't pursuit him. But it was too late for that.

Kyle saw one of the survivors closing to his position. The confrontation was inevitable and it made Kyle panic. But only for a second. Then instinct took over and he acted the way it said him to act.

The survivors saw him and managed to shout surprised _"HEY"_ just before Kyle decided to jump and attack. Kyle quickly applied guillotine choke on him. His arm was protesting against it, but he ignored it. He can't let them recognize him, even if they would end up friendly. This was far too dangerous for them.

The man in a chokehold was struggling to get both air and his voice to work, but Kyle's grip was too strong for it. He heard him gasping for air, but he continued strangling.

But other men managed to hear his previous shout and Kyle knew they were coming. _That's not good._ He started to back away with the man under his groin. He had to run and do it soon, but his opponent was still fighting.

\- _Come one, pass out. QUICKER._ It was all Kyle could hiss through his clenched teeth.

It was sudden, almost like the man agreed with him and Kyle felt his body becoming limp in his grip. He let go of him and turned around to run. No time to wait for the company to arrive. And no time to worry, why he did, what he did.

At this point, Kyle wasn't sure where was he running. Only one thing mattered - getting away from those guys. Nothing mattered anymore. Nothing, until he heard it.

The beeping sound came from his left wrist. His watch. This sound...

\- _Oh no._

The night was coming and Kyle felt it with all his body. Every muscle, bone, and bristled hair. They all shouted at him.

**THE NIGHT IS COMING.**

He immediately forgot about the man, he almost strangled to death. He stopped completely frightened of what was about to happen.

But this time the feeling was quite different than previously. He felt this power inside of him. Growing. Expanding. To his legs. Arms. Through his spine. It was a good feeling. Not this overpowering weakness he experienced before. He even enjoyed it in its unique way. He was so lost and fragile the past few days, that this unexpected energy made him feel powerful. It made him thought he could easily punch through the nearby concrete wall if he wanted.

And he wanted more of it. It worked on him almost like a narcotic. Addicting. Appealing. It also gave him the promise of freedom. Freedom for his soul, mind and... from feeling. He didn't want to feel this... Pain. Nor the guilt, loneliness, rejection, or hopelessness. And this power could give it to him. And all he had to do, was to subject to it. With all of his body and mind.

He wanted it more than before. Badly. And the more he tried to feel it, explore it, the more it started to devour him. He looked at his hands. He knew with this power he had no obstacles that would stop him. This power... not power. Rage. It was all in him. Ready to be released.

Kyle was betrayed. By friends. Which he tried to help and protect. And what for? The rage was growing. Consuming him. He needed to wreak his anger on something. Or someone. The thought was tempting. This RAGE had to be used. He tasted it. And was bitter. Burning. The instinct was telling him what to do. The old, almost primal instinct. The familiar feeling came to him. Started to surround him. He knew what it was.

The Darkness. It was there to take away the last bits of rational thinking. To take from him his control. Body. Even mind. This wasn't the freedom he so much desired. It was a prison.

Kyle started to fight those feelings. He won't submit. He won't. But as soon he resisted he felt getting weaker. Almost like all his life forces was sucked out from him. Out of his body. But he still felt the power. In his hands. In terror of what was happening to him, he swung his fist at the wall. He barely felt it, but he left a big hole in it. If he had the strength, then why he felt weaker and weaker every second?

The answer came to him. It wasn't his body getting weaker. It was his mind. This wasn't the fight he could punch through. It all depended on his will. And he was losing this battle.

Man in terror fell to his knees trying to overcome the Instinct. He was feeling being torn apart. His fingers dug deep into the dirt under him.

The Instinct was telling his body to kill. It wanted him to kill. The struggle was futile. He couldn't overcome it.

The man inside faded. Consumed by dark fog. To the point where there was no longer anything human in him. The shell of the man. The monster.

Violent growl echoed throughout the streets.

The Monster.

Was going on his hunt.

For prey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Version 1.0 ~ 14/05/20_   
>  _Version 1.1 ~ 19/05/20 Added chapter photo_


	9. The Hunt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Trigger warning:** may not be suitable for people with a weaker stomach or eating

* * *

**CHAPTER: The Hunt**

****

* * *

As soon the night has fallen, the darkness came, and therewith the terrors of it. Every monster came out of his pit or hideout place. This was the sole time for them to hunt, kill, and devour anyone unlucky enough to be still outside. The night was not meant for humans. But there almost always happened to be at least one unfortunate one out there, who didn't make it to the safe zone.

And monsters... they knew about it. It was their sole purpose - to hunt them down. The smell... vibrant, intoxicating. No Infected could resist it.

The monster followed it mindlessly. It was leading toward the waterfront. To the small wooden hut near the water. The low breath of a tired man could be heard from the inside. The human felt safe. He thought this cover would be enough for lasting a night in there.

How wrong he was.

The monster lurked over some rooftops scanning the closest area. No other humans nor their traps or UV lights. That was delightful. Easy prey.

It easily sneaked towards the hut without emitting even a single sound. While circling human's hiding place, the monster could almost hear the pulsating rhythm of alive heart inside man's chest. So unsuspecting anything.

It slowly came to the locked doors. Those shabby doors won't stop it. They posed no challenge to the monster. With one kick the only thing separating survivor from the monster fell out of the frame and into the cramped hut. The man inside got onto his feet shocked by what happened. Not every night monsters were rushing into closed-off areas. It was when he saw it. The dark posture of the monster coming for him.

 _AAAHHH.._.

The short scream came out of his lungs, but one swipe of the monster's arm made the man fall and lose his breath. He managed to take out his knife, but it was in vain. The infected already leaned over him ready to attack. With a low growl, it hit him again and again. The knife fell off his hand and soon the hand trying to repel monster limply dropped to the ground when a man finally was unconscious. The monster kept punching until the last bits of life got out of the immobile body on the floor.

The prey was killed. Now the feast began attracting more zombies to this place. They all feasted together until the only thing left was just remnants of a man.

But the night was still young and the monster couldn't stop on just one prey. It jumped from one roof to another. The greatest viewing spot over the city was from the rooftops. As well as the best hunting spot. On the streets of the dead city crowded by regular infected mindlessly pacing around, but true monsters were above this. No walls nor fences could stop them from pursuing their prey.

In the distant, it could hear screeches of zombies and human shouts. This could mean only one thing - pursuit. It followed sounds without hesitation. Every monster in the closes area headed over there, but only the strongest and fastest could get there in time for a show. It was one of them. It kept sprinting over every obstacle in a way to finally get to the scene from where the sounds came.

It was one of the isolated areas of Harran City and not easily accessible. Only Volatiles and Night Walkers could get there, leaving behind all regular infected limping slowly behind fences. Monster got in there too and quickly scanned the scene. Two predators chased after the lone survivor. But it wasn't a helpless man like the one from before. This was a runner and he knew how to avoid being caught. He parkoured over obstacles and easily climbed walls and buildings. And was talented in deceiving Volatiles. Not every runner could do it. The man thought he got monsters at bay, but couldn't anticipate the new threat coming for him.

With few jumps, it joined the pursuit after the man and started catching up to him. Runner kept changing directions, but it couldn't be fooled. It waited for an ideal moment for a leap over to his victim. It didn't have to wait long for an opportunity. Everything happened when they entered a narrow alley and the only way out of it was to circle around the building. The runner chose to turn right and slide under the fence gate. It slowed down Volatiles since they had to climb over it, but not the monster.

It continued pursuit by taking a left turn and going with full speed over the corner onto the unexpecting survivor. It leaped to him and knocked runner towards the building wall. It made him pinned down. His eyes opened wide knowing what's coming next. Its arm swiped at him, but he managed to duck fast enough. This was now a fight for life and death and survivor knew that. He drew his blunt weapon and made an attempt on the infected. The tight space was not on anyone's side right now and while the swing couldn't be powerful enough to do real damage, runner managed to push the monster away from him. Just enough to be able to slip away from the next attack.

The human started running again. This time he felt not as secure as before, but still tried to make unexpecting turns and leaps over edges to fool the monster. The only goal was to get to the safe house. The only safe space in this damned city. The man could see the blue lights in the distance and he hurried even more, but the monster was just on his back, still being able to catch up. All other Violatiles were long gone, but not this fucking zombie.

Only a couple hundred feet away was to get to the safe zone and for a short period of time, runner thought he was going to make it. He saw the entrance gate over which he had to jump to get inside. But he miscalculated the last jump and stumbled. This was all the monster needed to strike once again. This time it pinned runner to the ground and used his limp body to break its fall. The impact made man lost his breath for a second and his vision went blurry. But he couldn't allow himself to get knocked unconscious. Not with the monster on him. He tried to punch it but missed and made the monster even more infuriated.

\- _GET OFF ME!_ The man ground out while trying to clench on swinging arms of the monster.

Monster managed to make a few hits on the runner's face, but the human kept fighting back. It was one tough prey to catch. And to kill. It made the monster even more furious. It wanted to kill its prey already. While chasing could be exciting and allowed the rush of adrenaline, but this fight started to be tedious. The monster started to swing his arms at the human with even bigger chaos and frustration. With just a few more hits runner stopped defending himself. The last bit of consciousness sigh escaped his mouths when his whole body became limp. It was a cue for the monster to howl in satisfaction.

It attracted more infected to the area. They came to join, but suddenly change in environment made them all screech out of pain and confusion. Out of blue flare came and lit the whole area. Zombies started backing away from light. Some run from the agonizing pain of smoking skin. The UV lights! The deadliest weapon humans had against them.

Monster backed away from the fainted body of his victim. It shielded its eyes from brightness but kept circling around. _It was his prey!_ It announced that with high growl towards anything coming close. _It won't allow its prey to be taken away!_

 _His prey?_ The faint voice rang inside the monster's head. The foreign feeling came afterward. Monster gripped his head and started to writhing around trying to shake off the unknown thing off his head.

The posture of man arose from the darkness and started to approach the unconscious runner. He stopped astonished by the sight of a frantic zombie. For a second he thought it was human, but a quick glimpse on its face showed vicious eyes and black veins specific for newly turned infected. With no mercy, he swiped at him with his baseball bat trying to stun it. With roar infected pounced away swiftly and started retreating from the area.

\- _Yea! Run bastard! RUN!_ The man shouted at running away infected.

He couldn't stall more. He had wounded to tend to. The runner was in bad shape. His whole shirt was covered in blood and scratches from this damn thing. He leaned over him and asked.

\- _Hey, buddy!_ He slapped his face a few times. _Wake up! We don't have time!_

The man mumbled something unrecognizable, but it was a good sign. With few winks, he opened eyes, but couldn't focus his sight. The hits to head were a little too much for him. He tried to reach out to the person above him, but couldn't grab his hand. His savior managed to lift him up, but he staggered. _Where he was? What happened? His head..._

\- _Don't you faint again. We need to keep going._ While saying it he leaned unknown man over himself and started walking toward a safe zone.

Some people from the safe house started shouting at someones inside. _OPEN THE GATE!_ And with a metal creak, it opened wide enough for both men to go through. Some helpful hands took the weight of almost an unconscious man from him. He breathed heavily. And looked at someone at his right.

\- _Get a Doc here. This man needs help._

* * *

_The light! Blue light._

It was all over the place. It blinded his eyes. Burned them. He had to get away. His instincts were telling him it was a danger. He had to run.

But the other voice kept reminding him about the prey lying on the ground. He couldn't leave it there.

_It was his prey!_

With a vicious growl, he started to circle it around. Trying to find a way in, but the light kept bursting out of the thing on the ground.

His fury arose. There had to be a way to grab his prey and avoid the light. He won't allow others to take his victory.

_He won't allow his prey to be taken away!_

_But how...? How could that be..._ _his prey?_ It wasn't right. Something happened. Something bad.

What...

The monster staggered in confusion. The voice. Where it came from? It wasn't his.

The blue light still hurt his eyes, but instinct was telling him to stay there. He needs to kill prey!

But it wasn't prey. It was a man! He can't kill him.

The beast flopped around trying to find a way in and shake off this weird feeling. _Get out of my head!_

Out of nowhere a new man appeared and stopped dead when saw this uncanny view.

_Kill him!_

It was another danger. He had to do something. But lights kept him away from the man.

He tried to swing at him, but something stopped his arm from doing this move. _What...?!_

This weird voice called again. Deep inside of his head.

_That's not who he was. He doesn't kill innocent people._

The monster managed to roar in fury and dissatisfy of this statement. It was when a newly arrived man tried to hit him with a baseball bat.

The pure instinct told him to back away just in time to avoid being hit. He slowly retreated even further.

 _He lost his prey! He can't stay here._ With that thought on mind, he sprinted away from this place.

The flickering of the street lamps cleared his mind a little to start wondering.

Where... _Who? Who he was?_ The memories flowed in a weird path. None of it made sense to him.

He looked around in a panicked manner. It was Harran. He was still in the Slums.

But what the hell was he doing here? And in the middle of the night! Then he smelled it. This odor. It was coming from his clothes. He looked down and stopped suddenly.

Blood.

Everywhere.

Again.

Everything came to him. His name. His past. And more importantly, the fact he was Infected. And he turned. Again.

Kyle Crane was a monster.

GUILT. It filled his whole mind. He killed someone. There was no denying that. He hurt an innocent person.

How could he be so stupid to let that happen again? Kyle grabbed his head trying to calm down. He needed to hide. As fast as possible.

It gave him the power he needed. A fuel to do something right. He stood and started to look around like lunatic. For any hellhole to hide.

There was a shack nearby. Didn't look too solid, but he had no other options. He felt the fear as it rose inside him, alongside with darkness. He recognized it instantly. It was The Monster. He had to hide quickly.

Kyle barged into the room and looked for something to barricade the door. He spotted a barrel in the corner and rushed to move it. This damn thing was heavy, but he managed to move it. The itching pain in his arm didn't bother him at all. Probably due to his adrenaline meter being way too high right now.

With a final push, the barrel stood in its place. He had no way out now. Tired and frightened man lay down on the ground. Slowly allowing himself to be sunk into his mind again. This time there was no battle to fight. Just emptiness inside of his head. The grief of a man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I hope you like Monster-Kyle chapter. I think this is so far my favorite piece of work I wrote. I spent a great deal of time perfecting it and making sure it sounds right. And now, it's published for you guys! I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it._   
>  _I would be thrilled to hear from you, especially your opinion about this kind of chapter. I have in plans maybe one or two more like this one, but if you guys gonna like it I can try to squeeze few more. Who knows, what course the story gonna take? :)_
> 
> _Version 1.0 ~ 17/05/20_   
>  _Version 1.1 ~ 19/05/20 Added chapter photo_


	10. New Place

* * *

**CHAPTER 10: New place**

* * *

The new day came eventually and with it, Kyle's mind was free again. Or at least free for now. Up until the next night.

Kyle felt every inch of his body being all sore and cranky. The last night gave him such a beating and Kyle wasn't sure if he even should move. But he can't stay in this shack forever. After all, he needed to find a better spot to hide away during nights. Besides, there came this strange feeling, starting to twist his stomach. Maybe it was hunger, maybe awful taste in his mouth. He tried not to think what was that. Otherwise, he might throw up. He knew he can't stay here. But then the realization came and hit him hard.

The night. Events of it. He couldn't forgive himself for his stupidity. How could he let this happen again? He turned. Again. Hurt someone. Again. And since he couldn't remember anything from the night events, he wasn't even sure if beating the crap out of this guy was the only thing, he has done.

He tried not to think about it, but he couldn't bury his guilt. Even when he tried to. And he tried hard. But this wasn't a time to torment himself up. He had a goal. Gathering all his strengths he pushed those feelings into the back of his head and decided to finally do something useful. Act.

Getting up wasn't an easy task, but he made it finally. All cranky he looked around. He was still in the shack, he found yesterday night. Nothing much changed. It was pretty dark in there since there were no windows and the door was shut. But despite that, he could easily see everything around. Was his eyesight getting even better? Kyle couldn't tell. He was still a bit confused.

The shack was filled with a bunch of stuff. Tools were lying around on every available space. Crates, selves, and a table were squeezed on one side of the room, while the other one held some machines and electronic stuff. Kyle managed to spot some hammer drills, chainsaw, toolboxes, and a bunch of other stuff. While tools didn't have much of a use to him, but he could take a peek and see if there was anything else worth taking.

He kneeled next to the toolbox and his muscles screamed with pain due to being cramped and stuff. But didn't grumble about it. He had work to do.

He made through all stuff in the toolbox and few open crates pretty quickly. Didn't find anything with much of use for him right now. And since he lost his bag in the process, he couldn't take much with him. So he restrained himself from taking too much. After all his right arm was still sore and not much of use to him.

Now came time to get out of this cramped space. But the barrel still stood in his way. With sight on his mouth, Kyle started to push it aside. But didn't go that smooth like before. He didn't remember it being that heavy.

\- _Oh c'mon!_ He hissed with effort and kept pushing it, mumbling random stuff. _Move, you piece of shit..._ One more push and it moved a little to the side. _Or I swear to God, I'm gonna tear you open with every shit I'm gonna find here!_

And with a final push, it fell aside taking Kyle with it. He tumbled and had just enough time to pull his hands before he hit the ground hard. The small gasp escaped his mouth, but he tried his best not to yowl. It occurred to him, that maybe this damn infection made him more clumsy since he kept falling all the time throughout those few last days. Without any gripe, he pulled himself up and made into the door. He opened it with a bit too much energy and the sun's rays lit the whole room up. Including him.

\- _Damn sun. Damn pain._ He started moaning and shielded his eyes with his good arm. _Can't you all just back off me for a while?!_

He forgot about the sun. It blinded him and since he lost both glasses and cap, he had to pull the hoodie over his head to be able to see anything in noonish light. It didn't help much, but it was always something, right?

He found himself next to the train yard. The one sitting on edge of slums. And was filled with Infected. For a second he thought he will need to fight through all of them, but then it came to him. He no longer had to worry about them, since he joined their club of undead monsters. He sighed and started to walk along the tracks. Looking. For something. Or anything.

He didn't have any particular plan on the mind. Just find shelter and he gonna think what's next then. As easy as it could sound, in fact, it wasn't. Everything that close to The Tower wasn't really too safe since runners were rummaged in these areas a lot.

He kept walking up until he came by waterflood canal with a big pipe going right under the Slums district. Or at least he presumed it did. It gave him an idea. He closed to it and looked inside. It was the right size to be able to walk through. Not much water in it and what's more important - it was completely dark. That means it was one of the spots, where Infected would hangout. And no survivor would like to go inside. But not Crane.

It looked like a perfect hiding spot. Be he needed to check it out, before giving out the verdict. He looked inside and pipe seemed to go straight for at least twenty or thirty feet and then it turned left. Kyle climbed on the low roof of a nearby building to have a better view of the area. It could go under some of those houses. And as far as he knew, some people might have canal access straight from the basement. If he gonna find any that looks decently fortified, it could be his new hiding spot.

It was just a matter of following pipe and looking for any signs of hidden or not entrances or holes. So he went inside and for a moment he thought, he gonna need to look for a flashlight, but then he shook his head. How silly those old habits of his were. He needed to adjust to the new state of things.

The sounds of splashing and whooshing water were carried over the pipes. It could be a slight problem with all those water being still here, but Kyle didn't bother to think about it right now. His objective was to find a suitable basement first. Then he will worry about getting wet every time he would go out.

He came across a few sharp turns and few splits. For now, he kept moving by his left wall to not get lost. Few times he had to jump over the drop, which led to the town's sewers system. And although he knew infected won't bother him, he wasn't so sure about Volatiles. He decided he's not yet ready to test it and he wanted to stay away from sewers as long as possible. God knows, what was down there.

Those whole pipe flood system was quite complicated and felt like a maze to Kyle. It took him almost half an hour to check every turn and split. He managed to find few dead ends as well as few exits from pipes, but no single hatch or ladder yet. And few infected as well. Kyle was about to give up on his idea when he finally spotted one. It wasn't even that far from one of the exits.

It was right behind some rubbles, almost hidden over small turn and dead-end. For a not perceptive person, it could be even invisible. But perfect sight granted Kyle the ability to spot it without any problem. When he came for closer inspection he was quite certain it meant to be hidden. It could be used to smuggling or other shady business. The hatch wasn't locked fortunately and Kyle managed to climb up.

He ended up in someone's basement. There were no windows or at least all of them were covered by something since it was completely dark in there. Kyle was once more glad for his new ability to see in the darkness. After further look around he came to the conclusion, he might be right about smuggling. This whole place looked like some sort of base of operation. The whole room was quite big considering the size of the average house in this district of town.

The whole layout of the room looked like an 'L' shape with a bunch of storage places on one side and something looking like a kitchenette with a living room on the other side. It had even a big stained couch in the middle. Some tables and bookshelves on the sides. Bunch of some boxes and packs of things. Kyle wasn't really sure of what, but he can check them out later. Now he needed to see the other side of the room.

He made through a small makeshift corridor, being only a bunch of old junk, some furniture and material strained around wooden and poorly made frames. Its sole purpose was to divide this space and hide something behind it.

And it was a workshop of some sort. Kyle looked around and spotted a few work stations with a bunch of tools, parts, and some equipment, he didn't yet know what their function was. But it looked solid. At least as much as he could say about that place. There was also another hatch with old shabby stairs. They looked like they were about to collapse, but Kyle went up anyway.

They lead to a smaller room, which supposedly was the living room of an actual house. It was dark in there as well, but as opposed to the basement it had windows. They were all bunkered with strips of wood, metal, and fabric, but still, it let few beams of light inside. Someone lived there after the Outbreak and tried his best to stay alive. But it was abandoned now.

The air was stall and musty. Almost like no one opened this room for a long time. And it for sure was true. There were pieces of old moldy food on the cupboard. And considering how big the new civilization of STUFF grown, it could be months, since anyone lived here. There was nothing more of particular interest there, so Kyle headed toward the next staircase.

This time he ended up in the smallest room. It clearly was a poorly furnished bedroom. It had only one bed and a tiny wardrobe in the corner. But it on the plus side, there was a bathroom connected to it. And it was a standalone bathroom, not those provisional one being combined with other room. Kyle saw a lot of those when he was scavenging for supplies. A lot of houses didn't even have a bath or shower, and the toilet standing in the middle of the living room or bedroom wasn't an uncommon sight. But this was how slums worked and Kyle had to grown used to it. But this place was perfect.

He looked through another bunkered window. House was situated on the edge of Slums. Far away from The Tower and a bit hidden behind other buildings. There was a bunch of junk lying against the front door and the upper floor didn't have any entrance. No scavengers going to get inside. Kyle wondered what happened to previous inhabitants of this place. No sane man would move out from this fort.

Kyle suspected, that he probably end up being eaten by zombies. It was the only answer he could think of. Even if the man who lived here before was still there, somewhere, it wasn't looking like anyone was about to come back. He could as well move in and make this place his.

With that in thought, Kyle went to look for the power box. While his sight was good in this darkness, he could use a little more light in here. Maybe a dim one. He hoped the previous owner didn't invest in good bulbs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I decided on publishing twice a week. It will be on Tuesdays and Saturdays from now on. Can't really tell how long I will be able to keep this schedule, but I'm working hard on next chapters :)_   
>  _Some really interesting ones will come soon and I'm already working on two big chapters full of action and stuff. But you will have to wait a bit for it to come since I keep few buffer chapters (just in case)._   
>  _Also, I'm really happy to see your Kudos and reviews! It makes my heart grow, knowing you like it. I wanted to thank everyone for showing support. It means a lot to me and for sure motivates me to keep going._
> 
> _Version 1.0 ~ 19/05/20_


	11. New Day

* * *

**CHAPTER 11: New day**

* * *

Alcan woke up with a huge migraine. His head felt like was about to blow up and spill all of his guts out. He wasn't sure what happened and why in the earth he deserved it, but it happened. Obviously. Although he was still not sure what.

He tried to open his eyes but quickly regretted trying so. His eyes were in pain too. Everything was way too bright for him and made him sick. He felt bile came to his mouth and started praying not to throw up. He swallowed heavily a few times hoping it would help. But it only made it worse, since the awful taste in his mouth. He could use a drink right now. Any drink. To flush this out.

Bits and pieces came to him and slowly he started to remember. He was chased by Volatiles. And it was purely his fault. What an idiot, he was to go out in the evening? He should have known better he won't be able to make it back in time. But he had to try, right? So fucking moron, he was. He shook his head in disapproval over himself and regretted moving again. His neck. All sore and bettered. Someone didn't give a shit about beating him up.

\- _Shit._ Quiet mumble came out of his mouth.

He wasn't beat by a thug. But by those damn zombies. And not even by Volatiles. He remembered losing them due to his smart moves and evasion. No. This was some new kind of zombie. Faster. Smarter? He frowned in thought. Zombies weren't smart at all. They were brain dead and had only one goal. EAT. How a zombie could be smart?

But this one was smart. Or at least it looked that way. It was able to anticipate what he was doing, avoid his tricks, that worked even on those Nightmares. This fucking thing came from the other side, while all the rest went the same way he did, and got stuck. This trick always worked on zombies. Or at least on Virals and now he also knew on Volatiles. He never before tried it on those fuckers. While being reckless and stuff, he had enough senses not to try. This night was just an unfortunate accident.

Oh, God. How glad he was this other guy showed up and helped him to get back on his feet. If not him, he would be eaten by now. He needs to thank him. But first things first. The real question was if he gonna be able to get up. His whole body was in pain. This damn zombie has wreaked him. There was no denying that. But either way, he had to at least try.

And so he did. The first goal was to open eyes and don't throw up. This time it was easier since the headache was a bit smaller. He let them adjust to the new environment and then the next step came. His hands. He tried to lift them up to see if he has even a chance to stand up. Or to see if he still has them. And he did. He was relieved. At least he didn't lose a limb in this whole madness.

Now the hard part. Lift his damn sore body up. He knew it won't be pretty and he gonna regret that soon, but it had to be done. Sooner or later. Probably best if sooner. So he let to stall for a few moments and then strained both muscles and body to lift up this piece of junk.

He groaned while doing that and it probably alarmed someone outside since a face suddenly appeared by the door.

\- _Oh, you're awake. I'll get Matt here._ And as soon it appeared it vanished again. Probably went to get this Matt. So he figured.

That was good. This meant he didn't have to stand up and go look for someone. He needed to thank them for the shelter and their care, especially since he noticed, he was covered in bandages and compresses for his bruises. Maybe repay in some way for it too. He will see.

Alcan didn't have to wait long. Soon more people came and everyone stepped to the inside of the room. They looked friendly, but he couldn't give a verdict yet. In this time everyone needed to be on guard since people would do anything for some supplies, weapons, and antizine. And he knew how dangerous those encounters could be.

A man in the front smiled a bit with confidence. Alcan started to wonder if he was Matt, but it quickly became clear.

\- _Hey, I'm Matt. I run this place._ He stopped for second and looked closely. _And welcome to our humble place. You scared the hell out of us. We took care of you as much, as we could. But since we don't have a real doc here, we could only dress the superficial wounds. The rest did your body. But, I must say, it took you long to come back._

Alcan noticed he didn't introduce the rest of his flock. He started to wonder how long, he was out. A day? Two?

\- _How long...?_

_\- Two and a half._

Matt's response wasn't the greatest one, but in the end, he survived. He needed to thank them for their care and help. That was the least, he could do now.

 _\- Shit._ A curse escaped his mouth. But after seeing Matt's face, he figured he interpreted it differently, so he added. _And oh, I'm Alcan by the way and I have no idea how to thank you all for it._ He shacked his head in disbelief over his luck. _If not you man, I don't know what I would do._

\- _I'm sure you would end up as snack._ A grin appeared on man's face. _But you're welcome._

How damn right he was. But Alcan's pride couldn't allow him to acknowledge this.

\- _I think I would figure something out. But either way, I owe you, mate._

His hand scratched his head and quickly he regretted doing that. _Ow... It hurts._

- _Is there anything I can do to repay for it?_

The frown created on Matt's face.

- _You are in no shape to do that just yet. You took a real beating down there._ He could clearly hear a bit of disapprobation in Matt's voice. _You still need a rest. And when you gonna be up on your feet, we can talk about it._

Man stopped for a moment and looked at him with a pensive expression on his face.

\- _But there is one thing you could do now. How about you tell us something about you?_

He was a bit confused. He thought this gonna take more than tell them about himself. But whatever.

\- _Oh, sure. I guess._

Nothing wrong will happen if he tells them a bit about himself, right? He knew very well, he needed to dose informations, so he did tell only necessities. How he ended up that late in the night still out on the streets. What was he doing. About this weird zombie and how he was able to lose even Volatiles, but not this one. As well as where he came from.

\- _The Tower?_ The woman from back spoke for the first time and looked at him astonished.

\- _Yeah, that's something wrong?_ He fucked up. That what's wrong. Bile started to form in his mouth again, but then she spoke again.

- _No, not at all. We just all heard about..._ She suddenly stopped and looked skittishly on Matt.

But Alcan knew what was she about to say.

\- _Hannibal Brake? Yeah, he now runs this place if you are all wondering._

A whistle came from Matt's mouth. He was impressed. Like everyone was when they started to speak about Hannibal and the fact, he knew him.

\- _Well then. If you are one of Hannibal's runners, then it's our pleasure to take care of you._ He squinted a little due to a grin on his face.

And this again. Alcan wasn't fond of this reaction people started to show the moment he told them, he was from The Tower. Sure it had some good sides to it, like people being more helpful and cooperative, but he knew exactly where it all went. A lot of questions. Everyone was so damn curious. And he didn't like to answer them all. One look at them and he knew this will be a quite long day for him.

\- _So, what do you want to know?_

As it turned out.

Everything.

Great.

* * *

The rain of question finally ended about an hour ago and Alcan was so exhausted by it. Who would suspect answering questions is such a hard task. He almost wanted to admit being chased by Volatiles was less of the challenge, than this. But then he remembered what this fucking chase did to him. Or at least this one particular zombie.

He was all still cranky and painful everywhere, but Matt's group gave him some painkillers, so he felt much better now. He was even ready to get up and walk around this place. Especially since he was never here before. He didn't even know there was a safe house here. From what it looked like they just established here, but he couldn't ask them much about it since he was bombarded with questions for a whole fucking hour.

Maybe now he will have some time to learn some more about this place and these people. They seemed nice, but he didn't trust them. But he wasn't really trusty type of person. So this could be why he was restrained towards them. _But hey, it won't hurt poking his nose around, right? Right._ Either way, while seeming nice, there was something about them, that made him want to find out more.

So this was exactly what he did. Their 'Not-Exactly-Doc' wasn't really happy about him walking around, but nothing and no one was able to convince him to stay in his bed.

He started hobbling around and looking around. They really just established here. This was sure as hell. People still were working on securing this place more. Adding lights and some facilities like workshop, kitchen, or poorly equipped sickbay. But who had well-stocked sickbay these days, anyway?

He managed to count at least eight people here. Including two of their runners which already headed out and pair of kids. This was a small community and they all knew each other for some time now. Maybe even from before the Outbreak. Alcan couldn't tell for sure but didn't felt like asking since they might think he was too nosy.

After all, every Tower's runner had one more job to do than to just scavenge for supplies. And it was getting to know people and making friends. Hannibal's orders. He only had a vague idea, why, but he did what he was asked to do. So only subtle poking around. To just gather 'intel' as it phrased Hannibal. He hated this word. It sounded almost like he was some kind of special agent or something.

Alcan wasn't a big fan of that kind of stuff. He just wanted to be a simple runner, he used to be before. But whatever. There was nothing he could do about it. Other than whine around about it. Silently of course.

He kept looking around and tried to smile at everyone. They were staring at him. Even if he earned a little when he confessed to being a part of Tower, they all were a little distrustful towards him. After all, he was still a stranger on their doorstep. He would be careful in their place too.

So he tried to look as harmless as possible. It didn't really work. But he kept trying and looked for an opportunity. And it came eventually. Some kind of fuss around the gate made everyone focus on it, instead of him. He really wanted to check out this house, since it looked like an important part of the whole place. So when they stopped looking, he jumped inside. Before, he couldn't just barge in there while being watched.

It was a kind of base of operation or something of sorts. They had HQ in Tower and it was a similar thing. He knew, he was on the clock, so had to move his ass quickly. Eventually, they will start to look for him and he more than anything didn't want to be busted in.

The first room was quite small and it didn't contain anything worth his time. So he went straight to the next one and oh boy, this definitely was the operation room. They had maps, files, weapons here, and other stuff too. He quickly glanced at maps. Nothing unordinary. Few featured Slums and closest neighborhoods, but there was one of particular interest. Hidden a little below the rest. He took it out and looked at it carefully. It was some kind of region, he didn't recognize. A lot of empty spaces and just a dozen small clusters of building here and there. What was that? It didn't look like Harran. And then he looked down at legend.

_The Countryside._

And then it came to him. Wasn't it this place, where this Crane guy went to look for a cure? He heard he became a zombie after taking it himself. So this was no cure after all. But why on earth did they had a map of Countryside? Did they want to get there? What for?

So many questions, so little time. But he managed to spot something interesting. There was some kind of crossed place with a tiny description. He looked closely to decipher it.

_The Passage to Harran._

His eyes widened. They were not trying to get to the Countryside. They came from there. But what they were doing here?

But Alcan didn't have more time to think about is, since he heard someone shouting his name. He quickly put the map back to its place and tried to sneak out of the house. Oh, this was bad. Very bad. They might find him poking around and that was bad. Who knows what they will do with him?

He sneaked silently to the door. He tried to stay low down while walking out of the room, but his back hurt so much. He poked his head out of the door and threw a glance at the scene. No one there. Great. He quickly stood up and walked out of the house and tried to look innocent.

Maybe he will just tell them he went to take a piss. Yeah. It could work. But until he could finalize this thought Matt came out of the corner of the house and looked at him cautiously.

\- _Hey man, where you've been?_ His eyes looked from him straight at the house. Alcan tried not to shiver, while Matt's eyes snapped back at him.

\- _I went to take a leak..._ But he couldn't end his sentence.

\- _Cut the bullshit. You went inside, right?_ He didn't look angry, but his voice didn't match the face. _And did you found anything of interest there?_

He opened mouth, but no sound came out of it. _Shit. He was busted._ He had no idea what to say. Playing stupid now would make more harm than good, but what else he could say to them?

\- _Sorry. I'm known to be nosy. That's all._

 _Yeah, great. What now?_ He grimaced and waited for what was about to happen next.

\- _We don't appreciate people poking their noses around here._ Matt's voice was harsh and disappointed. _You can take your stuff and go back to your Tower._

This meant he is no longer welcome here. He fucked so hard. He was hoping, the little bit of 'intel' he got, while being here, would be enough to suit Hannibal. He nodded his head silently and headed into the shack where his belongings were. The intruder was escorted back and forth by two men from the group. They didn't want any more incidents.

The moment he put his second foot outside of the safe zone, the gate behind him shut close with a loud bang. Great, this gonna attract some Virals. He needed to find cover before they get there.

This was about to be a long and difficult trip back to The Tower. But Alcan was sure, he will make it. He had to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _And we finally there! Another major OC introduced. And this one gonna be a big part of what's about to happen next._   
>  _I'm also still teasing you with Hannibal Brake, but this is due to fact I want you all to learn more about him along with Kyle. So sorry, not much I can show you right now. But now when both Kyle and Alcan finally stood on their feet, it won't be long before a special chapter arrives. Of course with special guest, being Hannibal Brake. Stay tuned!_
> 
> _Version 1.0 ~ 23/05/20_


	12. Discovery

* * *

**CHAPTER 12: Discovery**

* * *

It was a long day for Kyle. But he enjoyed it in his own way. He wasn't used to sitting around and let things happen around him, so it was almost a relief to finally be able to do something. And there were lots of things to do around this place. And while busy, he tried not to think a lot about the last night.

So he threw himself into the work. He had to bring power back and it had turned out to be more difficult than just switching lever. The fusebox had some of the fuzes burned out, so he had to replace them. It wouldn't be hard to do if he had his bag with him. He always kept a few spare ones in case he needed to rig down some safe zone fast. But now, he had none, so there was nothing he could do than to just go outside and look for them.

Fortunately, it took him only two houses to find them, so his trip outside wasn't long. He still had a lot of time until twilight, so he wasn't that concerned about it. Though there was still a matter of barricading this place up. He wasn't sure if he would be able to get out through the closed hatch, be he wasn't willing to try. And he also needed to wash off all dirt and blood he had on him.

The guilt and fact, he couldn't recall any events from the night, made his stomach twist and hurt even more. But he couldn't just sit and moan about it, so he tried to keep his mind occupied with work. It worked up until now. _One thing at the time._ This was his mantra right now.

So when the light came back online he needed to find the next task for himself. And it ended up being tending his strained muscles and wounds. He had to find also a new pair of clothes, because the ones he had on him, had blood all over them. Nothing fun to have on.

So he took the hoodie off trying not to injure more his arm, but it went surprisingly easily. He was almost shocked. While being all busy and trying not to think about the night, he didn't notice the pain was gone. Yesterday he barely could move his arm, now he just felt a little itching. Something wasn't right.

He looked at the broken part and noticed the swelling seemed to diminish. He carefully undid a bandage. His arm looked just fine. There was no longer swell, nor purple bruise. Almost like it healed itself up during the night. How was that even possible? Kyle tried to slowly bend his whole arm and while the itching became a little worse, it was alright! Maybe he lost more than just a night? There was no explanation for this.

He shook his head in disbelieve and went to see how his chest wounds were doing. If they are still there, then maybe he imagined his arm was broken? Bandages were all sucked in blood, but Kyle wasn't sure if that was his or... He didn't finish this thought. He wasn't ready to acknowledge it. Not yet.

Quickly it became clear everything healed up. The scars remained, but there were no signs of open wounds. Only dried up blood. But the question was, how? Is that another of the side effects of this serum? Quick healing. It all sounded almost like a superhero movie stuff type of thing. He decided not to worry about it right now. There were more pressing matters.

He stood up and went straight upstairs to look for some clothing. He hoped to find another hoodie, but anything would do at this point. Black veins were even more visible on his abdomen and he didn't like this sight. The small bedroom had only one small wardrobe, which made going through all the stuff quite fast and easy for Kyle. Unfortunately, there was no hoodie, but he managed to find a jacket. With a hood, and quite good looking. Although it was a bit too big for him, but it did hide everything. So he didn't complain about it.

Kyle looked down on his trousers. They were in really bad shape. Torn in few places, soaked in blood, dirt, and other stuff. It made him look like a drifter or a hipster. He almost laughed at that thought, when he realized he was a bit of the first. No home. No job. No friends. Stranded in the middle of zombie apocalypse. Typical drifter, right? Right.

He searched through the whole wardrobe, but the best pair of pants, he found were skinnies. They surprisingly fit on him. But now he did look like hipster too and that didn't please Kyle at all. He will need to search for a better alternative soon. Really soon.

With all new clothes, he went to refresh himself. It was quite a while since he could wash his face. The cold feel of the water was salutary for his skin. He felt like washing off years of dirt and suffer. He tried not to look into the mirror in front of him, but there was no escaping from that. His face, even in fading light, looked even worst than before. He could actually see how pale it was.

His eyes were bloodshot and had dark circles under them. Kyle looked not only terrible but also terrifying to anyone who lived long enough in Harran. He quickly moved away from his reflection and went downstairs. The lamp in the basement was fried, so he will need to eventually search for a replacement. For now, it was acceptable.

There was also a matter of additional lighting. UV one. Kyle wasn't sure if it gonna affect him in any way, but what was a safe zone without UV lights? He needed to add this to his shopping list, along with better pants, radio, and flashlight. And maybe something to eat, since the fridge was empty.

For now, he started to look through stuff left behind by the previous owner. The workshop area was where he started. It looked the most promising and Kyle hoped to find maybe some weapons, tools.

It didn't take a long time to figure out the purpose of this place. Whoever lived here before, was either working for some kind of gang or was freelancer making weapons and tools. Kyle found also few bags of hard drugs in there. They might come in handy when he going to make some trades. Although he never supported drugs nor business, it was difficult times and he had to make difficult choices.

There was a lot of spare parts left, but no actual weapons. It looked like whoever ran this place emptied it from most valuable things, before leaving. But some of this stuff still can be used, both to make more weapons, which Kyle desperately needed right now, and to craft some security measures, he had in mind. Nothing fancy, but he had a few ideas. But that stuff needed to be put postpone since there were more pressing matters.

Kyle found a few UV lights and one regular flashlight, which wasn't dead yet. There was still a matter of figuring out how to pull this off. First of all, he was going to test out, if UV light has any effect on him. This was a very important question. And the basement ends up being testing ground.

He decided to do this cautiously. The last thing, he needed to fry himself. He made sure light was off before swapping bulbs. Then moved to the furthest point in the room, where the light switch was. With one flick lights came online and Kyle took few big steps back. Just in case. Seconds passed. But he didn't felt any different, so he decided to move closer.

With heavily beating heart he came under UV light and looked around. It did nothing. It was rather strange. It did repel all Infected from safe zones. Why it didn't work on him? Sure it was quite bright for him. Way too bright, but other than that - no other effects. This made him wonder if those are really UV lights.

But soon Kyle forgot about them, being way too busy with other stuff. After all he had to prepare also for a trip to the Old Town. He decided to set off in the morning of the next day. There was no point in delaying it further. The sooner he gets those vials to Dr. Camden, the higher chance for a solution to his problem. And for developing a cure of course.

Before he even knew, the whole day passed and the evening came. Kyle managed to fortify the entrance a little. So he had a hope, that would be enough to contain him in there.

Kyle knew very well what was coming for him. The anxiety on inevitable flooded his mind, when the night was about to fall. He sat on the couch in the basement and waited for it. There was no other way, he could possibly survive it. The Darkness was stronger than him in every aspect, and he knew fighting was a futile effort.

Drops of sweat formed on his neck. They started to slowly drop down his back, under the hood. It made him shiver from this feeling.

Ticks of the watch were moving incessantly throughout the clock's face. He watched it go around. The bigger hand of the clock was about to hit a full hour. And with it, Kyle's watch rang with a known pattern. He looked down.

 **9 pm.** Right on time.

He knew this feeling. It crawled along his spine. Telling him it is time. To give up. Stop fighting. Let go of his precious mind.

Kyle tried to relax, but every muscle in his body was tense and didn't want to cooperate with him. He looked across the room and felt a need to run, but he knew very well, there was no escaping this. So he closed his eyes and waited for it.

It took him few minutes to realize something was wrong. He opened eyes and looked around. He still was in the same spot. In the basement. On the same couch. And he still could think. His watch showed almost ten past nine.

But how? His rational thinking should be long gone by now. He couldn't understand what changed and made him not turn. Maybe it was delayed reaction and he will snap in a matter of few minutes? Or maybe his watch broke. He looked down at it. It looked fine...

Then it struck him. The light. UV light. He looked up and realized he didn't turn it off.

The memories of the previous night came back to Kyle. He managed to wake up during the night. In the middle of a chase. He didn't give it a thought previously, but maybe he should? He remembered the UV light. It triggered the change. Does it mean, he could retain his sanity if exposed to UV?

He couldn't find any other explanation and he tried his best to stick to positive thinking. This could mean hope for him. He might after all not be the monster, The Mother told him, he would become.

Although he could still feel it. Deep. Deep inside him. The Darkness. Writhing around. Trying to find a way in. Pushing his mind and body. Weakening him. But not as much as before. He could feel more sweat forming at his back and forehead. His muscles were shivering from the effort, but it was the first time when he had a chance against it. He could fight the instinct. Make it abide him.

It was the first night, Kyle truly survived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _And finally some true answers for Kyle (and for you guys too). He is finally getting hang of the changes that he is going through. Who knows how he gonna use this knowledge for his advantage in the future?_
> 
> _Version 1.0 ~ 26/05/20_


	13. Old Town

* * *

**CHAPTER 13: Old Town**

* * *

The sun was almost in the highest and its warm rays were slowly moving across the streets of Old Town. Shone over each balcony, arch, and rooftop of dying city. Air was stall and smelled with decay and despair. Kyle could almost taste it.

With grace, he started climbing the closest building. Although the architectural beauty of this place could be breathtaking, he needed a more efficient way of traveling. Streets being crowded and blocked were one of the worst ways to navigate here. Even if he could walk amongst Infected without any problem.

While Slums had very diverse architecture and walking over rooftops was not always possible, here in Old Town it was a necessity. Every runner knew that. So do Kyle and he kept sprinting and jumping across one roof and the another. He could see in the distance both The Clinic and the University.

He stopped over one ledge of the building. He didn't warn Dr. Camden about his visit. It could be rude to barge in like this, not invited. Besides Doc might not be even in his clinic or simply doesn't have time for him. But there was a slight problem. He had no radio. This was actually a big problem. He wasn't sure what to do about it. He could go to Embers and ask them to use their's radio, but what were the chances they heard what Hannibal was broadcasting across Slums? They could immediately turn against him.

The best approach would be to find one of their runners and see how it goes. Kyle's eyes started scanning the immediate surroundings for any signs of people around him. There was a slight fuss around one of the buildings. It sounded promising, so Kyle went this way. Carefully to not be seen, he approached the area.

The noises intensified and Kyle could for sure tell it was some kind of struggle between Survivor and Infected. He poked out of the rooftop to see what was going on.

The scene like many, he already saw. Lone man trying to get away from a horde of zombies. And it wasn't going well. He was surrounded from every side and had no way out of this shit. Man managed to run on top of the truck, but from every side, Infected tried to reach him. And with their groans, more were coming to this area.

Kyle couldn't just sit and do nothing, while the man down there will be slowly eaten. He managed to see him limping a little on his left leg. It was one more reason to interfere.

He looked around to see if there is an easy way down other than jumping straight from the roof. On his left, he spotted a well-suited balcony and truck next to it. He could use that. He wrapped his bandana tightly around nose and mouth and tidied the jacket's hood to cover his head.

With few calculated jumps, Kyle was already down on the ground. He looked around to see if there is anything, he could use to kill those Bitters off. A hammer was laying around on the ground next to a place where the survivor fled. _It would do._ Using the momentum from the run, he grabbed it while sliding through a group of zombies. He managed to knock down few of them and maybe even break their's limb or two.

With a swift move, he was back at his feet and swung with weapon towards the first batch of Infected. The sickening sound of crushed skulls and broken bones could be heard throughout the streets, but it didn't stop Kyle. He had to deal with Infected pretty fast since they weren't interested in him at all and this could raise suspicions.

The man on the car decided to aid Kyle and started from the top of the car swing with a machete at nearby Infected. In a matter of two minutes, almost all zombies were taken down. Most dead, few incapacitated or stunned. Kyle wasn't worrying about them anymore. The man was badly bleeding from his leg and needed to be taken to a safe zone.

\- _What's you name?_ Kyle shouted at the survivor and helped him get down from the car.

- _M... Mert._ He mumbled and started shacking. _T... Thank you! For saving me._

\- _That's no problem. How's your leg?_ Kyle looked down and it wasn't good. _Can you walk?_

The man blinked a few times. He was looking like he was about to faint. _No, no no. Don't collapse._ Kyle patted him a few times on his face, to wake him up. Mert looked at him with an absent glare.

\- _I... I... don't know. I think I need to sit for a minute..._

Kyle felt the survivor's body became limp and slump down from his hands.

\- _Goddammit. Do you have radio on you?_

Mert managed to nod few times before eyes rolled to the back of his head. Kyle cursed badly and started to pat around the man's shirt and trousers to find his radio. He was hoping it was one of the Ember's, otherwise, it could go badly. Finally, he found the device and managed to set Ember's frequency.

\- _Troy? Here's Crane. I've got someone who needs help. He..._ For a second he wasn't sure what to say. _I'm not sure if that's one of yours, but he looks like a runner._

Kyle had to wait a few seconds before cracks and noises from the radio stopped and he head Troy's answer.

\- _Oh, hi Kyle. We didn't know you were around._ She said surprised. _What's his name?_

\- _Yeah, it's just a small visit. I think, Mert. Does it ring any bells?_

_\- Yes, he is one of ours. Do you need assistance?_

_\- That would be greatly appreciated._ He said. _I'm on the main street, just before the bridge over a canal. I can see from here University._

 _\- So it's Royal Street. Copy that. Thanks, Crane, I'll send someone right away._ Cracks on the other side arose, but Kyle managed to hear the last thing Troy said. _Would you be kind to stop by Ember's Towers? We have a request._

\- _Sure._ He didn't sound convinced, but the woman didn't pick that up due to all noises and distortions.

Kyle wasn't really pleased of fact, he will need to meet with them. He wanted to limit meeting with other people to the bare minimum, but what else could he say? 'No' wasn't even taken into account by him. He didn't use to say no when someone required his help. Especially if they asked him directly.

With sight he let the unconscious man sit by one of the shops. Some more Bitters were approaching, but Kyle made a quick job with them and soon the whole area was covered in blood and remnants of Infected.

Kyle was a bit nervous from this waiting. _How long till those runners get here?_ Fortunately, it didn't take too long. First, he heard them coming, and soon he could see them jumping from roof to roof. A minute later and they were already in front of him. Man and woman. Embers.

\- _Hi, I'm Adile._ The woman spoke first. _And this is Gokan. Thank's for your help. We'll take it from here._

\- _Thanks, mate._ Gokan saluted to Kyle and picked up unconscious man by arms.

With that being said, Kyle handed them over Mert's radio and watched them carry unlucky runner to a safe zone. So he once more ended up without radio and had to meet with even more people. He was hoping they won't ask questions about why he is dressed like that.

Few jumps and climbs later and Kyle was again on the rooftops. Navigating almost seamlessly throughout the city. Soon he was by the Ember's Tower. He stopped in shadow and listened. Since no alarming sounds came to him, he decided to start climbing.

He used the old scaffolding left by renovating crew working on both towers just before the Outbreak happened, it still looked solid enough. Ember seemed to keep it in good shape. Without much hesitation, he started climbing. It went surprisingly easy, from what Kyle remembered.

Maybe due to his extended stamina or unnatural abilities that came with Infection, he managed to get to the top in no time. Even without pant. He was impressed by his own capabilities.

The top of the Tower didn't change much. Michael was sitting on the ledge and as always nodded to Kyle and kept looking out for any signs of trouble in the immediate area. Doors to the inner area, called by Kyle, OPs room, stood wide open. Kyle shyly looked inside and found no one inside. A frown formed on his face. But he clearly could hear them nearby.

The moment he was about to step out of the doors and ask Michael about Tory's whereabouts, he saw Savvy face sticking through the hatch frame.

\- _Hey, Kyle. Come in here._

As soon he appeared he dematerialized again in the shadows. Kyle blinked a few times but followed.

With a quick jump, he entered the lower area. Savvy was already by his computer equipment. Troy was turned back to Kyle, but she looked around her shoulder and a faint smile appeared on her face.

\- _Good to have you back, Kyle._ She frowned suddenly. _What's up with those clothes? You were on some kind of carnival, or what?_

 _Emm._ What was he about to say? There was no simple explanation for being dressed like this in full sun. The temperature outside had to be over seventy Fahrenheits. But Troy nodded her head over the stupidity of this clothing and dropped the subject. Kyle was saved from figuring out the answer. Instead, she asked.

\- _So, Tower was quiet for some time now. We were worried something happened out there..._ She really did look worried. _So what's up with you and the Tower?_

\- _To be fair I'm not the best informed person._ He said. _I've been away from Slums for a little while..._

\- _Oh. Where? I thought there is only connection between Slums and Old Town..._

Troy looked surprised and Kyle saw even Savvy turn around from his devices. _Great._ He slipped a little too much already. He needed to tell them now about Countryside too.

- _Well, there is a way out of the city, and it leads to Countryside. But it's as much filled with Infected as here._ He shrugged his arms. _Not much there, anyway._

Kyle tried to sound as nonchalant as possible. The last thing he needed was for more people to come there. Without blue serum, the survivors there won't stand a chance. This whole community. People, he knew and started to care about.

\- _Ah, yes. You send over here this girl. Ezgi, right? She mentioned something about this place..._

 _\- So Troy._ He interrupted her. _You mentioned something about some kind of request?_

 _\- Ah, yes, yes. You see since you were gone, we've begun to have problem with our comms. First, we thought it's something to do with our equipment, but Savvy assured me it's not it._ She looked down at him and put her hand on his shoulder. _It all coincided with losing contact with Tower and Savvy have theory._

Like on command, young computer spec pointed at his screen, but Kyle wasn't able to see anything in there. The whole monitor was way too bright for him, even in sunglasses. Fortunately for him, Savvy decided to explain what was going on in his mind.

\- _You see there. It's connection lost. This has nothing to do with our equipment. Every signal goes out from this destination without problem._ He was pointing and clicking at the same time. _There seem to be some kind of distortions at the end of transmission. Almost like signal was jammed. But we have Antena Tower running. This shouldn't be a problem if that was a thing._

 _\- But there shouldn't be even a technology to cause that kind of jam in here._ Troy added.

 _\- Alright, so what do you want me to do?_ Kyle knew where that was going, be he had to ask.

Troy looked at him with hope. So he was back to being an errand boy.

 _\- It would be great if you could look at this._ She knew, how to convince a man to do something with her feminine charm. Even with half of her face melted. Kyle needs to remember never to say that out loud. _We can't spare people to send them over to Antena Tower. You are our best bet, right now._

\- _So you want me to climb it again?_

\- _No, no. All you need to do is go to control room and install this extension._ Savvy handed over a small piece of electronics to Kyle.

\- _When do you need me to install it?_ He asked hoping not right away. He still had to meet with Dr. Camden.

\- _As soon as possible, but we can wait a little longer._ She didn't seem convincing, and Kyle understood this was quite an important thing for them.

He nodded. And thought, this was a good time to ask them for a walkie. He really needed to contact Doc. Especially since it was already an afternoon. There wasn't much time left.

\- _Ok, I'll do my best. I promise._ With a bit of hesitation, he asked. _Do you maybe have some spare radios? I lost mine..._

\- _Yeah, sure. You can have that._ Troy gave him her radio and added. _After all, you've done Kyle, we owe you._ Troy was sincere about it.

\- _Thanks._

He nodded in the agreement and thanks, and then backed away from the room. Now, he needed to find some secluded place to contact Doc and maybe look for some kind of shelter. The last thing he wanted is to lose control. Again.

With that in mind, he climbed down a Tower and went looking for a good spot for a call.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Version 1.0 ~ 30/05/20_


	14. Dr. Camden

* * *

**CHAPTER 14: Dr. Camden**

* * *

A few rooftops later Kyle was in enough distance from any prying eyes and ears. He could take out the radio and change frequency to match Doctor Camden's lab.

\- _Doctor Camden? This is Crane. I have something for you. Can I come in?_ He let go off the button and waited for a response.

Soon enough he heard some words muttered into the radio. He couldn't determine if that was interferences or man on the other side was just annoyed? It was followed by a bunch of cracks and other unidentified noises and then transmission cleared out. There were some serious problems with communication in Old Town. Troy wasn't lying.

\- _Kyle? I didn't hear from you in the while. Do you need anything?_ This vague question made Kyle think, maybe it wasn't the best time to come pay him a visit.

- _I have something with me, you might take a look at, Doc._ He took out of his pocket three blueish vials and looked at them. _This is something I brought from Countryside. I... If that's not the time to visit you, I can come later..._

_\- Nonsense, Kyle. Come right away. Would you mind telling me more about these...?_

_\- Serums, Doctor. It's some kind of serum, but I would rather not talk it through coms._

_\- I understand._ He responded firmly and added right away. _I'll be waiting then._

With crack transmission ended and Kyle put away his radio. The sun was still up high. He can make it. It wasn't that far from here and he should find a suitable place to stay for a night. Hopefully. But he needed to get going.

With few stretches, he started his parkour again. From roof to roof. Jumping. Running and avoiding falling. Being a runner, it was precisely how he perceived his surroundings. Being either suitable to climb or jump on or being a death trap, like those shabby wooden roofs, very common in these areas. Especially over balconies. Kyle learned to avoid them.

It took him about ten minutes to get into the vicinity of University. From this point, he had to climb down to the street level. Not many roofs out there to parkour over.

Zombies were as mopish as usual and paid no attention to him passing them by. He started thinking, why they no longer saw him. Did he smell differently? Or did they sight could tell difference, even when he hid under a bunch of clothes. Maybe Doc would know. Kyle still didn't figure out how to tell him about his problem, without scaring the hell out of him.

He was at the doors to The Clinic and looked at them a little hesitantly. He could return maybe later. Think a few things through and then come back. But the camera in the front already picked him up. Kyle watched it turn at him, so he waved his hand over to communicate, that he is friendly. Maybe he imagined it, but he could swear, he heard it click in acknowledgment. He blinked a few times. _Yeah, now I can add to my symptoms also delusions, because why not?_ He thought sharply and went inside.

He was greeted with fortunately empty reception. No Infected got inside and Kyle headed straight to the elevator. He knew he was being watched by Dr. Camden and he kept his disguise.

The lower floor didn't change much from his last visit. The mess was still horrible. Parts of limps, decayed corpses, and blood. Blood everywhere. No one bothered to clean it. Or maybe no one had time and strength to do this.

What was interesting was a fact it didn't repulse Kyle as much as it should. Maybe it was due to everything he saw throughout his stay in Harran. Or maybe he developed a strong stomach to this kind of nasty stuff. Kyle followed the known route and soon he stood in front of Dr. Camden's lab. With few deep breaths, he went inside.

The room was way too bright for Kyle. The rest of the complex had only dim lights and it suited Kyle, but now he had to shield from it. Even though he had sunglasses on.

He looked around trying to localize where Doctor was. With his obstructed vision, he had a hard time doing this. So he let his hearing guide him. Soon enough he almost stumbled onto Dr. Camden. He raised his hands in apologize gesture.

Doctor didn't change either. He was still overworked, tired man in his fifties. Kyle managed to notice his hairs were much thinner than before. His face looked much more worn off. Bits of grooves appeared around his eyes and mouth, being accompanied by much older deep wrinkles, Kyle remembered from last time. He smiled politely and asked.

\- _So what've you got for me, Kyle? And why you sounded so mysterious through radio?_ Dr. Camden went straight to the point of his meeting.

Kyle took out three blue vials from his jacket pocket and handed them over to other men. Doctor looked surprised, but took them and went straight to his desk to examine it under better light. Kyle turned away trying to not look into even brighter lamps.

\- _I've got them from Countryside, Doc. They are some kind of narcotic substance, people from there were using to avoid being detected by Infected..._

\- _Astonishing. How did they come into possession of such serum?_ Kyle heard a high pitch in Doctor's voice. Excitement?

\- _Well, they were distributed by this figure, Mother, they called her. She was kind of deity to them._ He managed to see the confusion on the other man's face, so he added. _From their's local believes. They believed, she was protecting them, as hers children._

\- _But how, can that be? You don't want to let me believe some kind of God made them immune..._

\- _No, no Doc. She was of course just a regular person. Or she once was, at least..._ He stopped not sure if he should follow this plot. _What's more important they all use it. And it made them not only not visible to zombies, but also stopped them from turning if bitten. Almost like Antizine!_

\- _Remarkable. But why do I feel there is catch to it?_ Dr. Camden was not a fool man. He knew when something was up.

Kyle kept walking back and forth, but he stopped the moment, he heard the question. So here it comes, the tough part.

\- _Yes, there is. You see I met this Mother in person. And she... she... was Volatile, Doc._ Kyle's voice went from a whisper to almost shouting. He felt his hands shaking and wildly gesture, so he hid them into pockets of his jacket. _Fucking walking, talking Volatile. She managed to retain parts of her sanity, but the virus took her body completely._

Doctor stopped his examination of vials and stood to look at Kyle in disbelief. He never heard about anything like this. And he shook his head trying to find a rational explanation.

\- _But Kyle... The virus does not have potency to keep victim's brain intact. It attacks cerebral cortex and makes it completely stop functioning. The only left of the human is primal instincts, which in this case is limited to only feeding. So how, that can be possible?_

\- _I saw it Doc and I... I couldn't believe it myself too. But she really was Sentient Volatile. She also told me how that happened. Those vials._ He pointed at specific in Doctor's hand and continued. _They are extremely dangerous and while being used in gas form they grant protection, that in liquid form... They do exactly this. Turn you into the monster. I had to kill her..._

\- _So you are saying they can be used only in gas form?_

_\- No. They are as much dangerous airborne as if you drank it. It just takes more time to work the way it works..._

His voice cracked and a shiver came through his body. This was when he realized, that this gonna happen to all of those people back in Countryside too. He never thought about that before. He was so fixed on his condition, he somewhat forgot about them.

\- _Doc. There are hundreds of people, who used this shit for months... I was hoping, maybe you would be able to reverse its effects._

\- _I don't know Kyle._ Dr. Camden shook his head and turned around back to his workstation. _Understand me, you came here bringing those miraculously working serums, which then turns out to be deadly. And now you expect miracle from me. It could take months to study and experiment. And I don't even have required samples to begin with. Until then most of those people would probably already turn._

\- _Well, I can get you samples._

\- _Those need to be fresh. And since you killed the only one specimen, then I'm afraid we gonna need to wait until another one emerges... Because I won't force anyone to drink this in name of science!_

\- _That's the point Doc. She wasn't the only one... Not anymore._

The grieve mixed with anger from his voice made Dr. Camden turn around and look cautiously into Kyle. His pupils widened at this revelation. He already knew. But was afraid to ask. Kyle shook his head and turned around from him. His hands turned into fists and he wanted so badly to smash something around but knew he couldn't.

\- _I was infected with it too._ Kyle said with a sepulchral tone. _And I already started turning._

The silence in the room was tense. It amplified all background sounds around. Suddenly dripping water was the loudest thing in there, broken by the buzzing of computer equipment and heavy breaths of two men. None of them could think of what to say to the other.

Kyle kept his back to Doctor because he couldn't bear seeing pity in his eyes.

\- _Would you mind elaborate more about it..._

This was like a final blow to Kyle. He couldn't keep this inside of himself. He was bottling it up for the past few days, he didn't even realize how many bad emotions he accumulated.

\- _What's to elaborate Doc?!_ Kyle kept shouting louder and louder. Not at Dr. Camden, but at the universe, Mother, people who let him down, GRE and himself too. He had to shout it out. _I'm becoming monster! Every fucking day is worse and worse. People are fearing me, trying to kill me, or make freakshow out of me!_

At this point, he stopped screaming. He had no more energy left to do it, so he instead started to whisper.

_\- I... I hear things. Much better. Too good even. I can hear whispers of people across the street. I see at dark almost like I had night vision goggles, but at day... every fucking light source makes me almost completely blind. And nights... Nights are the worst. I'm not me anymore. I can't control myself. I don't even fucking know what is happening around me! What... I do._ The blood. Bodies of children and their mother. The face of man lying on the ground in blue light. Everything stood in front of Kyle's eyes. He kept reliving those moments again. He couldn't forgive himself for what he did. There was no redemption from it. Not after all of this.

_\- But I do see effects of it, when the dawn comes, Doc. And I assure you, this isn't pleasant thing to see. Especially knowing that I'm the one responsible for this._

He was so fixed on guilt and memories, he didn't even notice Dr. Camden approached him. Not until the other man touched his arm. Kyle flinched and looked back. At worried eyes. Compassionate. He didn't seem frightened at all. Warm and kindness were emanating from Doctor's face. He reached out a helpful hand to Kyle and was waiting patiently until he accepts it.

\- _Would you mind?_ He asked and pointed at one of the stools. It was an invitation to be examined.

Without a word, Kyle did what Doc asked him to do. With few sharp pulls, he took off both bandana and hood. He managed to see the other man's eyes widened at this sight, but other than that, he remained professional to the end.

Kyle didn't like being examined. He never did. But this was a necessity, and he knew that. He let Doctor take his time and make some notes. He was poked, turned around, and blinded by medical flashlight or whatever its name was.

The examination ended the moment Dr. Camden took samples of his blood and smiled slightly to Kyle, probably to cheer him up a little. It didn't work though and Kyle watched him turn around back to his desk and write something down. He didn't care about any conclusions Doc had, so he stood up. Ready to leave.

\- _Thank you, Kyle._ Dr. Camden glared at him for a moment. _I'll do my best. You have my word._

Man looked down at the clock on his wrist. And then looked back up.

\- _I suppose it would be best to let you go now. You'll be alright?_

Kyle briefly looked down at his watch too. Almost evening. The time passed quickly. He had to hurry.

\- _Yeah, I'll be fine._

With this being said, he turned around and stepped out of the room. Being watched carefully by a worried man in medical overall.

Scientist kept looking at empty doors for a few more moments. He tried to determine if the man, he finished examining just now, was really a monster, or just a victim.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Version 1.0 ~ 02/06/20_


	15. Radio Problems

* * *

**CHAPTER 15: Radio Problems**

* * *

With a new day, a new sun arose from the darkness. Gave new life and a new chance for a city flooded with blood. All Nightmares of the night were long gone in their holes. And brave men and women woke up to survived and live another day.

Kyle was amongst them. Sunrise meant even more to him than before. It became for him a harbinger of hope. Because at this point. He could only hope.

He spent night bunkered in a small room of one of the apartments nearby University. He managed to get in there just in time before he lost control over his body and fate. It was something, he will never get used to. There was no normality in losing sanity and then getting it back again. It stripped him from his humanity. Every single night. But he survived. Like countless other men and women out there. And more importantly, he didn't kill anyone this time.

There was no time to reminisce now. He had a job to do and people out here counted on him. Like always.

He came out of his hiding spot into full brightness of the sun. Shielding his eyes from hurting light, he looked around. He had to head north-east from his current position to find the sewer's entrance. The same he used before to get here in the first place. It will also lead him into an antenna tower.

Kyle decided, he will radio Savvy, when he gets there. Kid might be still asleep since a watch was showing only a few minutes past six.

The trip to antenna tower wasn't that long as Kyle remembered it being. Soon enough he came out of the tunnel and saw the known sight. The half finished bridge over the rushing stream of water coming from nearby Dam. Exactly how Kyle remembered this place. He headed straight to the antenna.

The last time, he had to take a swim, but now he decided on trying jumping over the gap between both ends of the bridge. With a bit of running start, he did a jump and softly landed on one of the beams on the other side. Kyle was still astonished by his increased agility and strength. This was something he had to get used to.

The walk at the dawn by this place was pretty scenic, but Kyle didn't come here to sightsee. He quickly climbed to the top of the hill and hopped over a fence to the closed-off area around the antenna. There was no sight of zombies there, but even if they would still be here, they wouldn't bother him. Not anymore at least.

He noticed there was increased activity of survivors in this area. There were few pieces of electronic equipment by the antenna elevator. The rubbles of the broken mechanism were removed and replaced with a zipline to get up easily. Kyle wished he had this luxury before he had to climb that damn thing. But oh well, what could he do about it back then?

Now was a time to contact Savvy and learn what his mission was exactly. He took the radio out and made a call. At first static and cracks greeted him, but soon, he heard a voice on the other end. The range was pretty shitty and Kyle had to ask Savvy to repeat a few times until he could actually understand him.

\- _Kyle... there? ...need you... take this to... and equipment..._

\- _Shit, Savvy, I don't understand any of it._ Kyle grew tired of this.

With few more buzzes and cracks from his radio, Savvy's voice finally broke through the noises.

\- _Kyle, so you got there already?_

\- _Yeah, and I need to know what I'm supposed to do now._

\- _Oh, yee. Listen up. Do you see any weird equipment somewhere near the mast?_

- _Yes..._

\- _Great. This addition is my doing._ Savvy was clearly excited about it. _Well, I wasn't the one installing it. We send few runners to set it up, but I did all programming and had this whole idea..._

\- _Savvy, just tell me, what you need me to do._

\- _Oh, right. So you need to find control panel. It should be closer to the top of devices._

Kyle approached it and looked around it. There was some kind of small monitor, but he couldn't see a damn thing in there. It was way too bright for his new sight. He hoped he won't have to use it.

\- _I... found it..._

\- _Great. Now, listen._ Savvy's voice became more serious. _You need to lever it to open. Inside there would be..._

\- _Ok, hold on. One thing at the time, right?_

\- _Yee, yee, sorry._

Kyle shook his head and started to open the panel, but it didn't go well. He didn't want to use his new strength, because he might end up breaking it. So he took out a small knife, he found yestartday in this small apartment and tried to use it to lever the lid open. With few slick moves by the edge, he managed to open it.

\- _Ok, I did it. What now?_ Kyle asked.

\- _Right, now do you see two blinking blue lights? Next to them, there should be a socket. And this extension I gave you yesterday should fit perfectly._

\- _So you want me to plug that in and job's done?_

\- _Almost._

_Of course. Because why things should be that simple?_ But Kyle saved this one for himself and got the extension out of his pocket and tried to fit it there. It plugged in without even a sight problem. Some new lights on the panel started to blink.

\- _Ok, I plugged it in, some lights showed up. Is that good?_

\- _Depends on which ones came on. Can you describe it?_

- _So... a red one in the top left._ Kyle started to describe it the best, he could. _A blue one just under the first one. There is also three in the bottom part, but out of four only first, third and forth blinks..._

\- _That's all?_ Savvy suddenly interrupted Kyle.

_\- Yeah._

A few seconds of silence came through the radio. For a brief moment, Kyle thought he lost connection with Savvy, but then he spoke again.

\- _Shit. Mate. You gonna need to make this climb after all._ He seemed not happy about it, but in fact, Kyle was the one the least content with it. _Something shitted up there. You need to get to mind control panel._

\- _The one on the very top...?_ Kyle knew it was a rhetorical question, but he had to ask.

- _I think..._ Savvy didn't seem so sure now.

- _You think?_

Kyle was angry. But not at Savvy, but himself. He did it again. Got himself to do a shitty task and now he had to make this damn climb. He already hated this tower after the first time. But he did what, he was asked to do. The only thing that made this climb less tedious was a zipline, which he gladly used. But it took him only up to the first platform. From this point, he had to rely on his parkour skills.

The last time he climbed this thing, was also a morning. But back then, he had to hurry his ass up, since The Ministry wanted to bomb Harran. He took a lot of risks back then, to made it just in time. But now, he took this as slowly as he needed. But to his surprise, it went quite smoothly. He could easily climb, jump, and grab every ledge. One more new perk. The good one this time.

The climb didn't take him too long and soon, he stood on the top of the antenna. The view was spectacular. Last time he was here, he didn't have the time nor the mood to admire the beauty of the whole area. The whole bay was in his sight. Both Old Town, Slums, and unknown parts of the city. Everything in the range of Kyle's view. He spent a good minute or two just enjoying the view before he radioed Savvy again.

\- _I'm up here. What do you need me to do now?_

_\- Kyle... look... panel... switch..._

And suddenly transmission ended. Just like that. Kyle heard only noises and cracks.

\- _Savvy, you there?_ He tried to call him again, but this damn thing lost range!

So what now was he supposed to do? He could try to climb down and try to radio him there, but he wasn't even sure if that would even work. He tried to call him again a few more times, but with a futile effort.

_What was that, the kid said? To switch something on panel?_ Kyle approached it and looked closely. There, in fact, were two switches and. One of them turned on and the other off. They had some kind of description, but the words were long gone due to faded material. He had no idea what they did. So he thought about it.

Savvy asked him to switch one. But there were two of them. He could mean any of them. Which meant, Kyle had to make a decision. He knew very well, that picking the wrong one could screw up a whole antenna and the work that would have to be put to fix it. But that was way over Kyle's skillset.

He looked down at his radio with hope and tried to radio Savvy one more time. More noises came to Kyle.

\- _DAMMIT._

Having no other choice he reached towards the panel. Which one to pick? They both looked the same. He wished Savvy told him what to do before, he did climb it. Kyle closed his eyes for a few moments and just took his chances. He picked one and switched it on. When he opened eyes, the panel started to light up. Nothing fried. Which was good.

And then suddenly his radio cracked loudly and he heard Savvy voice again.

\- _Kyle! Do you hear me?!_ Kid was really stressed out.

\- _Yes, I did it, Savvy. I think it works..._

\- _HOLLY SHIT._ Savvy almost shouted that and made Kyle flinch out of surprise. _Yes. You did it. Great job. I can see strength of our antennas in Old Town came back to normal. You just saved our day, thanks, Kyle!_

_\- No problem, I'm glad to help. So, we are done?_

_\- Hold on a minute._ Savvy said and went silent for more than a minute. _Ok, so I think I was right all along._

- _About?_ Kyle didn't follow up on the kid's thoughts.

\- _Well, it seems that while strength of our transmission greatly increased, but we still can't communicate with Slums. This would seem to be some kind of comms jam. And it's not on our end._

\- _So, what you saying? Someone in Slums don't want anyone to be able to answer your calls?_

\- _Not only answer, but hear and broadcast too. Almost like no one lived in Slums anymore._ Savvy wasn't sure about it.

\- _That's for sure not true, but whatever. What now?_ Kyle asked.

\- _I guess in order to restore communication between zones, the jam needs to be disabled... But I can't determine a place nor location of it._

\- _It would be looking for a needle in a haystack..._ Kyle wasn't very happy about it.

\- _Nah, Kyle. I'm not sure if I could even talk you through it._ Savvy give up on trying to fix it and continued. _I guess we'll have to live with the way it works now. At least comms works again in Old Town. So that's something. Thanks again, Kyle!_

With this statement, Savvy terminated their conversation and left Kyle with confusion written on his face. Why everyone was giving up so quickly? He knew now, he had to go back to Slums to try and find out who and why was jamming signals. And try to bring back communication between zones.

The wind up on the top of the mast was quite heavy and Kyle decided, he already spent there enough time. Now, how on earth is he gonna get down? The zipline was still there, but if he remembered correctly it would make him jump mid-travel, right into the stream underneath. He hoped he won't break his neck and zipped himself up to it. With slight push and he was falling or more correctly, zipping through the air.

He was going back to the Slums.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Version 1.0 ~ 06/06/20_


	16. The Savior

* * *

**CHAPTER 16: The Savior**

* * *

Alcan had a long way to come back to The Tower. And considering his condition - tough one. He had to travel across the whole Quarantine. He didn't know how he ends up that far away. It had to be due to his escape at night. He didn't bear for his surroundings and run in no particular direction. How fool of him. But it all ended well. Or at least not as the worst-case scenario in which, he would be eaten.

Every bone and muscle hurt him, but he managed to avoid Bitters for now. They were slow and clumsy enough to be fooled and outrun. Even considering his pacing speed wasn't much of run than just a fast walk. He still didn't try to parkour. This would be far easier to avoid Infected than traveling on the street level. But Alcan didn't feel up to it just yet.

There was one particular place, he knew, could be hard to get through. One of the main streets swarmed with all kinds of Infected. Including Bitters, Virals, and few special ones, like Goons or Toads. He had no other choice than go through it. Maybe he will be able to sneak and avoid alerting Virals. The last thing, he needed, was to fight those damn pesky things.

No one liked them. They were fast, easily attracted by noises, and hard to kill. Some of them even could fake being hurt to distract the person from fighting them. Alcan heard they could sometimes even talk. He wasn't sure if he believed in those rumors or not. Personally, he always avoided them at any cost.

But he still had to get there, before he would try to think a way through. For now, he was busy avoiding being eaten by crowd of Bitters, he had on his tail. They kept following him for quite some time now. Alcan never thought they could be so stubborn. Maybe they saw him as a tasty snack, and they couldn't give up chasing him.

Either way, he decided to climb up the fence. Maybe this would help him lose them. He started to climb it and his body didn't like none of it. With a loud groan, he managed to get through and fall to the ground on the other side. It hurt, but at least the Bitters couldn't get to him anymore.

He looked around trying to determine, where on earth he was. It was fenced off area. He looked at the building in the middle.

**Stuffed Turtle.**

He blinked a few times. _Oh, this was bad._ This place was even worse than the crowd of Bitters by the fence. It has always been a place, where the biggest amount of Infected gathered. It was due to the announcement running through the shop's speakers ever since the Outbreak happened.

Even when they were shut down by some guy, crazy enough to go inside and loot this place, this didn't seem to help with lowering the population of zombies in this area. Most of them stick to this place anyway. Alcan chose a really bad fence to climb on.

He looked back on the other side of the fence. The Bitters were still there. Looking at him. Stumbling by one and another. They tried to reach him. He was sure as hell, they won't give up. He had no other choice than go through the zone and try to find another way out. And try not to be eaten, when doing it. That sounded like a plan. Shitty one.

Alcan stood up and started to slowly move towards the building. He needed to look around the corner to determine how bad the situation was. When he reached it, he heard one of the Bitters being nearby. It was groaning and he could actually hear his rasp breaths. He leaned from his hiding place.

There it was this fucker. Standing in his way. He might need to kill it. Alcan hoped he had enough strength to execute that. He took out his short blade and looked around. No other targets. He needed to pull it off as quiet and fast as possible.

Alcan bettered his grip on his weapon and jumped forward to get to the Infected. It reacted with a little delay and it was all he needed. With a swift cut, he managed to damage it enough to make it stumble back. But it didn't seem to make enough effect, because damn thing quickly started to walk in his direction again.

He swung again and cut through the zombie's chest. Disgusting smell came to Alcan's nostrils. The odor of rotten flesh. He held back nausea and cut through the zombie again. He made it fall to his feet. It still moved a little but stopped being a threat.

There was no time to think about finishing it with a final blow because the fight attracted a few more Bitters to the area. They were closing in and Alcan had to hurry. He speeded up his pace and managed to go pass through them before they could catch him.

He was getting closer to other corner of the building. He just wanted to get out of here fast. Without much thinking, he stepped from around the corner. This was a mistake. A big one.

Alcan entered area completely flooded with Infected of all kinds. He stopped dead looking around. _This is bad. Very bad..._ But before he could finish this thought, the first group of zombies saw him and rushed toward him.

\- _SHIT._

He jumped to his right trying to avoid Bitter swinging at him. But he stumbled over a piece of trash and almost fell. He managed to get his balance. Having no other options, he rushed toward the fence trying to pass by the horde of Infected, but they were faster.

One jumped in front of him and screamed at him. Viral. Ready to strike. Alcan rose his blade up readying himself to push this thing away. The moment it stopped screaming it jumped on him. He expected it, but even though, the sudden push made him stagger a few steps back. He tried to swing at the thing, but missed.

The viral jumped back and again rushed at him. This time it met the face of the blade and Alcan left horrible cut on its chest. Monster screamed from fury and tried to swing at Alcan. He managed to avoid it, but he couldn't hit it back this time.

The horde was closing to the position, where Alcan was fighting and he knew about it. He had to deal with Viral fast, otherwise, he will be eaten by Bitters.

The next jump of Infected in front of him came and Alcan cut through its face. Make it almost fall to the ground. For a second, he thought he saw a piece of human in monster's eyes, but as soon it appeared it faded. The eyes showed only a furious desire to kill its victim. And this victim was him.

He swung his blade at the same moment, the creature jumped on him. The full force of the thrown body made him stumble and loosen the grip on his weapon. But he managed to drive it through the Viral's chest. It groaned, stopped for a second, and then started to fall. Right on him.

The weight of the body made him completely lose grip and his weapon was left in the monster's body. It fell to Alcan's feet. He wanted to draw it out of the Viral, but in this exact moment, he felt the touch on his back.

The Bitter was trying to grab him and obviously bit him. He jumped forward avoiding being caught, but he didn't calculate well enough his steps and managed to stumble over the dead body. He fell to his knees.

The fear finally broke through his adrenaline rush, he had during the fight. _That was it. The end._ He was about to be eaten by Bitters.

He tried to get up, but the rotten hands of monsters made him fall again. He was grabbed and pushed back to the ground.

With last bits of strength, he kicked back the thing away and started to crawl on the ground. Away from monsters. But they had an advantage over him.

They were about to get to him when a new body appeared.

Alcan blinked few times.

One Bitter fell to the ground, just next to him. Dead.

_How?!_

Then he saw him.

The man stood before him and the horde of monsters, swinging with his weapon. Killing them one by one. Without much of an effort.

The man wore a hooded jacket and tight jeans. Very tight ones.

Alcan blinked few times stunned. Maybe he had hallucinations...

It was when a final Bitter fell to the ground and man turned around.

- _GET UP._ He ordered and grabbed him by the arm.

With a groan, Alcan was being put on his feet again. The man made him run toward the fence. Alcan tried to climb up, but while fighting Infected, he didn't even notice being hurt. His arm was bleeding badly and he couldn't keep himself climbing and almost fell.

The man immediately caught him and almost threw him across the fence. It confused Alcan greatly, but he didn't complain. He tried to ask this strange savior of his about his name but was interrupted.

\- _Who...?_ Alcan asked.

\- _Don't have time. MOVE._

The sharp pull made Alcan move and soon they end up in another area. Almost completely cleaned from Infected. It was when heavy breathing made Alcan had to make a stop. They were running for far too long, and he wasn't yet ready to pull his strengths to the test. He waved a hand and leaned by the nearby car, trying to catch a breath.

His mysterious companion saw it and went to deal with few Bitters, that was roaming in the close by area. Alcan looked at him wondering, who the hell he was and how did he manage to beat down all those Infected that easily.

Alcan wanted to see his savior better, but couldn't see his face. He had some kind of disguise...? A mask? After further observation, he noticed it's not a mask, but bandana tightened around his nose and mouth. He had also sunglasses and hood over his head. This made it almost impossible to see his face.

_Anyway, who on earth was wearing full clothing like this in such weather?_ Guy was dressed in a hooded jacket, which looked like the warmer ones and had long jeans, full headcover... While Alcan had only short trousers and a bit torn t-shirt. And he felt all the sweat on his skin far too good. This guy had to boil in this clothing.

It tempted Alcan to ask him about it, but it could sound rude. Especially since he was the one who saved him and he was asking about his damn fashion choices. Alcan shook his head and decided he needs to know the name of this guy. He looked like a capable guy and might come in handy and maybe even join Tower's runners.

- _So. Who are you?_ Alcan asked and watched him turn to him. He just finished the last Bitter in the area.

\- _What?_

\- _I asked..._

\- _I know what you asked._ His voice was harsh, even a little unfriendly, but he continued. _What does it matter, anyway?_

Alcan didn't anticipate this kind of turn in the conversation. But he tried to continue.

\- _I... I just wanted to thank you. Why is that problem to know your name?_

He didn't respond and kept looking in Alcan intensively. It made him uncomfortable and a young runner looked away from his watchful sight.

\- _Do I know you?_ He seemed genuinely confused.

Alcan looked back. No, he didn't recognize him. But it might be because of headcover. He shook his head.

\- _Anyway._ Man continued and his voice returned to being harsh. _What on earth were you thinking going inside Stuffed Turtle by himself?_

Alcan blinked confused. Why on earth was he lecturing him? Just because he did save him didn't give him a right to do so. He was about to say it out loud, but the man continued.

\- _You should know how stupid and reckless idea that was. This was almost suicide note, kid._

**Kid.** _What? A kid?_ Alcan was seriously triggered right now. He stopped being a kid a long time ago. He ended twenty about a month before the Outbreak. And this guy had guts to call him 'Kid'. Ha managed to mutter through his teeth.

\- _I. Am. Not. A. Kid._

The other guy seemed amused by it but didn't continue. Instead, he asked.

\- _Where are you from?_ After a moment of silence, he precise. _Tower?_

\- _Yeah. I'm runner from Tower._ Alcan responded reluctantly.

The man nodded in silence and appeared to be calculating something. Alcan wasn't sure if he should tell him about being from The Tower. Or about being a runner.

- _Right._ It appeared he made up his mind. _I can help you get to the closeby area, but from this point, you would be on your own._

Without waiting for Alcan's response, he headed toward The Tower. It was sure, he knew a way over there, even better than the young runner himself. And it made Alcan think, this guy might have been living in The Tower once. Maybe before he joined them. Because for sure, Alcan didn't recognize him, even considering his disguise.

Not having anything to say to him, Alcan followed the mysterious man. He seemed to be more than capable of handling the whole zombie horde. The way, he sliced through them, with them even didn't pay attention to him was rather weird. But Alcan was so impressed and didn't pay attention to unusual signs in front of him.

Soon both men came through the last street being between The Tower and the rest if Slums. It was when silent companion turned over to Alcan and said.

\- _That's the closest I can get you._

Alcan stopped and looked at him. He really wanted to know at least his name. So he tried again.

\- _So, you won't tell me your name?_

\- _Nope._

\- _Well then._ Alcan gave up on trying to get to know his name. _Thanks for the help... whoever you are. I owe you!_

He didn't answer, but Alcan thought, he might smile at least. Without waiting, he turned around and went his way. Alcan looked at his back fading away in the distance. He didn't bother to use rooftops to travel through Harran. He stuck to the streets, which was rather strange to Alcan, but he didn't give much thought about it.

He turned and headed to The Tower. He had a lot to report to Hannibal. This day will be even longer than he suspected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _This is the first chapter out of three with Alcan POV. I hope to develop this character a little bit better and establish him in Dying Light world. He is going to move the action forward, so stay tuned for a few coming chapters._
> 
> _Version 1.0 ~ 09/06/20_


	17. News for Hannibal

* * *

**CHAPTER 17: News for Hannibal**

* * *

Some helpful hands pulled Alcan up through the demolished staircase to the first floor. People were smiling at him. Few of them were asking what happened? And if he is alright. But he didn't pay attention to them. All he wanted to get to the elevator, up to his warm bed and sleep for two days. At least.

He knew he wasn't allowed to do it just yet, but he could still dream about a little. Right?

He shook and nodded his head when people were asking him even more questions. Someone clever enough started to tell everyone to leave him alone. They all see how tired and bruised he was. People stopped blocking an elevator door, and Alcan could finally get inside.

He left a tired sigh. The noise was ringing inside his head. He wasn't sure if that was because of all those people downstairs or because he hit his head too hard. Either way, it was nothing to what was coming for him. He was exhausted by those people being just worried about him, but now he was about to be questioned and forced to give full report before, he would be allowed to go lay and just rest.

The bumps during traveling the elevator increased the nausea feeling Alcan had. He tried to put his forehead to the cold wall, but the next bump made him hit himself. Not the greatest idea, he had.

When the doors slid open, he found a few people waiting for him already. He blinked few times. Right. Everyone knew he was back.

Lena was amongst them and she moved in front of the group looking much more worried than he wanted her to be. She put her hand on his forehead and examined him from top to bottom. She didn't like what she saw but also knew she couldn't take him to the medical bay. Not yet, at least.

Alcan felt being helped out of the elevator and someone made him lean over him. He looked to his right. Hayir, one of the Tower's runners. Tall, pale man, with always untidied hairs and clothing. But a very kind man. Alcan liked him a lot. He always was there to help and give advice. He could be someone the closest to Alcan right now. A mentor almost.

They both went slowly towards Hannibal's Headquarters. The rest of the men followed. He looked behind and saw Lena following too. She won't leave him and was ready to fight for him if Hannibal would decide to question him for hours. Alcan was very grateful for her care and smiled at her.

It was when he noticed people were talking to him something. The ring inside of his head lighten a little and he finally could hear them.

- _Remember, stick to the facts._ Hayir sounded concerned and felt a need to give him some advices. _You don't have to tell every fucking detail. This can be done later. Right now, just tell what's important and you would be over with._

Oh, he was saying about the report he had to make. Well, those were good advices. Alcan tried to note them in his mind, but he kept struggling to make it work. He was so tired. A bed would be nice. And some cold compress for all his bruised parts of his body. The moment, he thought about them, immediately felt all cramping and aches.

He groaned quietly, but Hayir managed to hear it and looked at him with a question in mind. He interpreted it wrongly and tried to console Alcan a bit.

\- _Don't you worry, it will be over soon and..._ He looked back at someone. _Lena will take care of you._

They were already there. In front of Headquarters. Voices could be heard from inside. Hannibal's and someone else. They seemed to angrily discuss something. Alcan wasn't sure he wanted to get inside, but Hayir already pushed the first door and knocked into the next one. Voices died down and soon doors opened.

Everyone came inside. The other man, Hannibal argued was Quartermaster. He wasn't happy, but Alcan couldn't read much from his expression. But he managed to see the angry face of Hannibal, jut before he turned his back to them and walked through the room. When he finally turned around, his face was calm and professional. No sign of a recent argument happening between two men.

\- _You can go._ Hannibal turned to Quartermaster and added. _We will talk later._

The man nodded and went through the door. Before walking by Alcan, he threw a glance at the young runner and smiled consolingly. To comfort him and say how sorry, he was, he will have to go through it too.

\- _So, what do we have here?_ Hannibal asked looking intensively into Alcan. _You are Alcan, right?_

\- _Yes... yes sir._

He kept taxing him from feet to the top of his head with his piercing eyes. He grimaced on something, he didn't like and said.

\- _You look like shit, young man._ He looked back on the rest of the people standing still behind Alcan. _What are you waiting for? He looks like he needs to sit or he will faint here. Get him to the sofa._ With this being said, he pointed at nearby furniture.

Alcan tried to argue quietly, but no one listened. They pushed him toward the sofa and almost forced him to sit. The softness of it made him relax a little, but he still had a report to make. But before, he could even open a mouth, Hannibal spoke again.

\- _Would you like some water? Or maybe something stronger...?_ Hannibal looked at him and Alcan shook his head. _As you wish. So, tell me._ He sat comfortably in front of Alcan with crossed legs. Why _do you look like shit and where were you? It's been almost two days if I'm not mistaken? I'm sure you have some very interesting stories to tell._

Someone touched Alcan's shoulder and made him flinch. He looked back and saw Hayir be his side. He didn't notice when he came and stood behind the sofa. He smiled to rise a little his spirit. Alcan took a deep breath and looked back at Hannibal. _Let's rock'n roll..._

* * *

Answering all those questions wasn't as exhaustive as giving a report to Hannibal. He asked about each, tiniest detail and Alcan had to stop and describe in detail each scene, person, and encounter.

Hannibal has been mostly interested in those maps, Alcan found in Matt's safe zone. He asked him to draw them, but he couldn't get it to work. He saw them only briefly, so his sketches looked awkwardly and weren't detailed at all. It didn't satisfy Hannibal, but he couldn't manage to make him draw it better. Especially considering the pen, which was handed over to the young runner, was shaking uncontrollably in his hand, due to extreme exhaustion. So he dropped the subject.

But when Alcan started describing how this mysterious man rescued him from horde of zombie in Stuffed Turtle, Hannibal exhaled loudly and spoke in the middle of Alcan's sentence.

\- _A guy?_ Hannibal interrupted him suddenly. His attention increased dramatically. _What guy?_

- _I don't know, really._

\- _Does he look familiar to you? Like one of the survivors living in any of the closeby settlements...?_

\- _No. I didn't recognize him, but I..._ He was about to say, he doesn't know the face of everyone in this area, but Hannibal cut him off.

\- _How does he look like? This is important, so stay focused._

Alcan blinked few times and tried to remember his encounter with him.

\- _He... he looked like a normal guy, really. Well maybe expect, he wore face disguise..._

- _A disguise?_

\- _Yeah, like a mask..._ He thought for a second and then continued. _Well, it was actually a combo of hood, bandana, and sunglasses. I wasn't able to see his face at all like he didn't want me to know, who he was. He didn't want to tell me his name either. But..._

He stopped for a second and frowned, not sure if that's even important. But, he couldn't think about it too long, since made Hannibal impatient.

\- _Go on._ He hurried him.

\- _So he looked like he knew the route to The Tower very well. Almost too well I would say. And he also didn't want to come too close._

\- _Interesting..._ Hannibal stood up and started to walk back and forth. He looked back at Alcan with excitement in his eyes. _Does anything look out of order with this guy? Anything strange happened?_

\- _When you ask, there was actually something a little weird about him._ Alcan didn't give much of a thought about it before. _He fought amazingly. I never saw someone that good at slicing through Infected, to be honest. And it looked like, he had some kind of cloak, maybe?_ Alcan saw the surprise on Hannibal's face, so he added. _You know, like a potion, which makes Infected not see nor attack you for some time._

\- _So Infected wasn't interested in this guy at all?_ Hayir spoke for the first time since they came to this room. This made Alcan flinch again. He forgot, there were other people here too.

\- _Yeah... They didn't even look at him before he started to hit them._

Hannibal stood still and looked intensively at Alcan. Then he noticed the rest of the people gathered in the room.

- _Alright, everyone out. I have pressing matters to talk through with Mr. Tasci._ He added when he saw a protest in Hayir eyes. _ALONE._

Lena tried to pretest too, but with one swing of the hand, he silenced here.

\- _This is not under discussion._

Both Alcan and Hannibal waited for everyone to leave the room before the leader looked back at the runner again and continued.

\- _So. It looks like you met our lovely ex-runner._

\- _Ex-runner... Who?_ Alcan couldn't think of anyone, who recently left The Tower.

\- _That's not the most important right now._ Hannibal didn't want to go into details, so he continued. _So listen up. Now, you are going to get a good night sleep, Lena will take care of you, and when you will feel up to it, you will go and try to contact this guy. This is extremely important to keep it only between us two, right? I want you to work with him and give me reports about his doings._

\- _So, you want me to follow him?_ Alcan wasn't sure what is this all about.

\- _No, no no. Not follow. Befriend him._ He looked very serious about this. _This is important. Right now, you have only this one task. We will talk more before, you leave. Of course after your well-deserved rest._

With this being said, Alcan understood talk is over and he supposed to leave. Still confused and not sure, what Hannibal expected him to do, he stood up clumsily and headed towards the door. The Hannibal's voice came to him and he looked back.

\- _But remember, Alcan. This needs to stay between us only, right?_ His face looked menacing in the shadows.

Alcan nodded in agreement and walked past the door, far away from him. This guy was giving him chills sometimes.

The moment he stood a foot on the corridor, he saw a worried face of Lena. She immediately grabbed him by his arm and touched his forehead, trying to determine, if he had a fever. She shook her head in disappointment and started talking, how he was careless and he will one day end up dead. But Alcan wasn't listening. He was one leg in his bed right now, started dreaming.

She helped him get to the medical bay and laid him on one of the beds. Before she turned away from him, he managed to see last bits of sunlight coming through the curtain and his mind drifted away.

Young runner finally had his deserved rest, he so much needed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _This is part 2 / 3 of Alcan POV. I still need to flesh him out more I think, but this can be done in the following chapters. Right now I need to give Crane something to do, so some action is coming soon!_
> 
> _Also, I'm close to hitting 50k, which is (from my brief estimates) halfway through PHASE I. I think I should be able to finish it before reaching 100k. This won't be of course the end of the story. It's nowhere near that, but when I get to 50k I will switch to uploading once a week. With finishing the first phase of FF, I will take some break probably, and then get back to you with PHASE II._
> 
> _Version 1.0 ~ 13/06/20_


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